ii|{l,**i'ifti^>/lS)VJlltU't'.'i;^iWiU;-'tfifi'i?.*'--ii!.* 


PARISH  LECTURES 


ON  THE  PRAYER  BOOK 


.  SNJVELY.  D.D 


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tihxavy  of  Che  Cheolociical  ^emmarjp 

PRINCETON  .  NEW  JERSEY 


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FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
REVEREND  JESSE  HALSEY,  D.D. 

Snively,  William  A.  1833- 
Parish  lectures  on  the 
prayer-book 


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Wm^^&  Mlljtttafeer, 

2^3  "^Bible  ^)zuit. 


Copyright,  1888, 
By  ThOiMas  Whittaker. 


THE  DeVinne  Press. 


2Do  tl)e  ^tmox^  of 

Wi)ou  tnorD^  of  i;ncourasemcnt  mafle  t^t  preparation 

of  ti)t^t  I'tmtcff  a  plca;5ure, 

anti  tD^bo^e  name  i^  ^till  an  in;spiration  to  all 

tpljo  feneh)  ^tt. 


Content^. 


nocture  JFiwt, 
Historical 


Introductory 15 

lecture  'Ei)irli» 

The  Daily  Morning  Prayer 27 

lecture  Jfourt^), 

The  Morning  Prayer  (continued) 39 

lecture  JFifit^, 

The  Morning  Prayer  (continued) 55 

lecture  <S>irti). 

The  Evening  Prayer 73 

lecture  <S)ei)entJ), 

The  Litany 79 

lecture  Cigl)tl), 

The  Holy  Communion  (I) 91 


PAGE 

Ltctutt  il5intl). 

The  Holy  Communion  (II) 107 

The  Holy  Communion  (III) 123 

lecture  QSWucntl), 

The  Holy  Communion  (IV) 141 

lecture  '^\atlft^. 

The  Holy  Communion  (V) 158 

lecture  ^ijirteentij. 

Holy  Baptism 175 

lecture  iFourteenti^, 

Holy  Baptism  (continued) 187 

lecture  JFifteentij, 

The  Catechism 201 

lecture  "Sii;cteent!). 

Confirmation 213 

lecture  «S)ei)enteenti), 

The  Marriage  Service 221 

lecture  (Z5igi[)teenti)» 

Visitation  of  the  Sick 235 

lecture  I5ineteent}). 

The  Burial  of  the  Dead 249 


^ 


The  purpose  of  these  tenures  is  to  present  in 
a  simple  and  condensed  form  an  explanation  of 
the  services  of  the  Church  in  their  general  struSf- 
ure  and  their  minor  details.  The  author  has 
availed  himself  of  the  abundant  Liturgical  Lit- 
erature of  the  Church,  and  has  drawn  freely 
upon  the  works  of  Wheatley,  Prober,  Blunt, 
Freeman,  Scuddamore,  Goulburn,  and  other 
standard  authorities,  and  makes  no  claim  what- 
ever for  originality  in  the  treatment  of  the  suh- 
je6l.  Well-informed  churchmen  are  already 
familiar  with  the  rationale  of  the  offi,ces;  hut  to 
the  large  number  of  persons  who  are  seeking  the 
Communion  of  the  Church,  and  to  the  younger 
members  of  the  Household  of  Faith  who  desire  to 


comprehend  the  system  and  worship  of  that  branch 
of  the  Church  Catholic  to  which  they  belong,  it  is 
hoped  they  maybe  at  once  acceptable  and  edifying. 
In  response  to  the  request  of  many  who  heard 
them,  they  are  now  committed  to  the  attention  of 
that  wider  audience  which  to-day  is  reached  only 
through  the  medium  of  the  printed  page,  in  the 
earnest  hope  that  they  may  illustrate  the  beauty 
of  Holiness  in  the  Worship  of  the  Church,  and 
so  contribute  to  the  §pread  and  triumph  of  the 
Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 


LECTURE    FIRST 


%tttmc  fit^t 


HISTORICAL 


o  understand  fully  the  system 
of  our  liturgical  worship,  we 
must  divest  oui'selves  at  once 
of  the  idea  that  a  litm'gy  is 
merely  a  compilation  of  prayers 
and  lessons  and  hymns.  For  every  true 
liturgy  is  a  growth,  an  arrangement  of 
devotional  offices  from  which  much  has 
been  omitted  because  it  failed  to  stand  the 
test  of  time  and  use;  and  to  which,  by 
slow  degrees,  much  has  been  added,  as  the 
needs  of  the  church  for  such  additions 
became  manifest.  That  only  which  can 
meet  these  conditions  survives,  and  the 
liturgy  of  a  historic  church  is  not  a  manual 


4  Lecture  First 

of  offices  skillfully  arranged  by  any  one 
council  or  synod  or  bishop  of  the  chui'ch, 
but  rather  the  liturgical  inheritance  of  all 
the  ages,  whose  root  and  origin  are  to  be 
found  only  in  the  life  and  period  of  the 
apostolic  church. 

As  the  baptismal  formula  was  the  germ 
of  the  apostles'  creed,  so  the  words  of  insti- 
tution, in  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, constituted  the  nucleus  of  the 
liturgies  of  the  early  church.  Around  that 
central  act  of  worship  all  other  devotions 
gathered,  and  for  its  due  observance  the 
prayers  and  the  psalms,  the  scriptures  and 
the  sermon,  were  but  the  preparation. 

The  apostles  had  scarcely  passed  to  their 
rest,  and  their  influence  was  certainly  still 
a  living  power  in  the  church,  when  there 
grew  up  in  the  great  centers  of  Christian 
activity  and  life  four  principal  liturgies, 
strikingly  alike  in  their  essential  features, 
which  have  furnished  the  roots  from  which 
all  subsequent  liturgies  have  grown.  These 
were: 

1.  Tlie  Liturgy  of  St.  James,  which  was 
used  at  Jerusalem  and  Antioch,  and  from 


Historical  5 

which  the  present  liturgy  of  the  Greek 
Church  is  derived. 

2.  The  Liturgy  of  St.  Mark,  or  the  lit- 
urgy of  Alexandria,  which  was  at  once 
the  center  of  learning  and  piety,  and  from 
which  the  present  Hturgy  of  the  Egyptian 
Church  is  taken. 

3.  The  Liturgy  of  St.  Peter,  which  was 
the  origin  of  the  Ambrosian  liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  Milan  and  of  the  present  Roman 
service. 

And  4.  The  Liturgy  of  St.  John,  or  the 
Ephesine  liturgy,  from  which  the  early 
Grallican  and  British  liturgies  were  de- 
rived, and  which  is  thus  the  legitimate 
progenitor  of  our  own. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  to-day  that  the 
early  British  services  differed  so  much 
from  the  Roman  ritual  then  in  use  that 
when  St.  Augustine  came  to  preach  the 
Grospel  and  establish  the  church  in  England, 
as  he  supposed,  he  found  there  a  church 
already  existing,  and  a  liturgy  in  general 
use ;  and  he  was  wise  enough  to  concede 


6  Le£lure  First 

that  while  his  own  ritual  might  suit  his 
own  converts,  it  would  not  be  wise  to  en- 
force its  use  upon  the  bishops,  clergy,  and 
laity  who  still  maintained  their  church 
organization,  which  they  had  received,  in 
all  probability,  from  St.  Paul.  And  with 
a  prudence  which  has  not  always  char- 
acterized church  authorities  in  questions 
of  ceremonial,  it  was  decided  to  select 
what  was  best  in  each,  and  thus  make 
a  national  liturgy  for  the  entire  British 
Church. 

From  these  early  beginnings  in  the 
course  of  history,  the  bishops  arranged 
and  modified  the  services  for  their  respect- 
ive dioceses ;  and  these  diocesan  manuals 
of  devotion  were  called  "  The  Use  "  of  the 
respective  dioceses.  The  most  conspicu- 
ous and  influential  of  them  was  "  the  Use 
of  Sarum,"  and  from  it,  in  the  main,  our 
present  book  is  derived. 

As  religious  life  in  England  became 
monastic,  its  services  naturally  multiplied, 
so  that  from  the  early  custom  of  prayers 
and  praises  morning  and  evening,  there 
gi'ew  up  a  system  of  services  for  various 
other  times   during  the  day  and  night. 


Historical  7 

These  were  called  the  canonical  hours. 
They  began  at  midnight  and  continued  at 
intervals  of  about  three  hours  during  the 
day  until  bed-time. 

Of  course,  such  an  arrangement  was  en- 
tirely unsuited  to  congregational  or  paro- 
chial use,  but  it  is  interesting  to  know 
something  about  them,  as  they  have  a  very 
close  relation  to  our  form  of  worship  to- 
day. 

The  first  of  these  monastic  offices  was 
the  service  of  nocturns  or  matins,  which 
took  place  soon  after  midnight.  The  sec- 
ond was  lauds,  which  was  said  before  day- 
break. The  third  was  lyrime,  which  was 
a  later  and  more  formal  service  with  fixed 
psalms  and  lessons.  Then  came  the  mid- 
day services,  and  in  the  evening  at  six 
o'clock  there  were  vespers,  with  canticles 
and  psalms ;  and  the  devotions  of  the  day 
closed  with  compline,  which  was  a  brief 
service  before  retiring  for  the  night.  In 
restoring  the  worship  of  the  church  to  the 
use  of  the  congi'egation,  and  in  translat- 
ing both  it  and  the  Word  of  God  into  a 
language  "  understanded  of  the  people," 
the  manifold    and   constantly    recurring 


8  Lecture  First 

services  of  the  monastic  life  were  simply 
accumulated  into  two  principal  services 
of  the  day.  The  three  morning  services, 
matins,  lauds,  and  prime,  are  essentially 
embodied  in  our  order  for  daily  morning 
prayer ;  and  vespers  and  compline  were 
accumulated  into  our  order  for  daily  even- 
ing prayer,  which  in  the  older  English 
books  is  called  by  the  expressive  and 
beautiful  name  of  even-song,  while  the 
office  for  the  Holy  Communion  is  properly 
the  divine  liturgy  of  the  church,  for  whose 
due  celebration  the  morning  prayer  and 
the  litany  are  but  the  preparation. 

At  the  time  of  the  Reformation  the  serv- 
ices of  the  church  were  purged -from  the 
absurd  legends  and  superstitious  rites  by 
which  they  had  been  overlaid  and  disfig- 
ured, and  the  order  of  worship  was  re- 
stored to  its  purity  by  a  return  to  the 
principles  of  the  primitive  church.  This 
was  no  easy  task.  For  while  the  bishops 
and  doctors  of  the  Anglican  Church  were 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  rich  litur- 
gical treasures  of  Christian  antiquity,  and 
while  they  sought  to  accomplish  the  work 
of  reformation  in  harmony  with  the  prin- 


Historical  9 

ciples  of  an  undivided  Christendom,  yet 
the  sympathy  and  help  of  the  Continental 
reformers  were  very  desirable  in  their 
common  warfare  against  the  usurpations 
and  errors  of  Rome.  This  distinction  be- 
tween the  principles  of  the  English  Refor- 
mation and  the  Continental  must  con- 
stantly be  kept  in  mind.  The  reformation 
of  the  English  Chui'ch  was  conducted  step 
by  step  by  learned  and  devout  men,  whose 
only  object  was  to  restore  the  church  to 
the  purity  and  the  order  of  its  earliest 
days,  while  that  of  the  Continental  was 
practically,  and  indeed  against  the  wish 
of  its  most  learned  and  thoughtful  lead- 
ers, the  effort  to  construct  a  new  chui'ch. 
It  thus  lost  the  moderation  which  was  the 
characteristic  of  the  English  Church ;  and 
the  influence  of  Continental  ideas  in  shap- 
ing the  revision  of  the  English  Prayer- 
Book  was  very  great,  but  it  never  was 
successful  in  eliminating  from  it  its  state- 
ments of  primitive  and  scriptural  truth  in 
regard  to  the  doctrine  and  worship  of  the 
church. 

To   trace   the   history  of   the   English 
Prayer-Book  through  its  long  and  varied 


10  Ledliire  First 

conflict  with  the  errors  and  obstinacy  of 
its  opponents  both  within  its  pale  and 
without  would  be  a  tedious  task  and  one 
that  is  quite  unnecessary  to-day.  It  is 
sufficient  to  recognize  the  fact  that  in  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  its  history  God  has 
never  left  himself  without  a  witness  to 
his  truth.  And  although  there  have  been 
di-eary  periods  of  English  history  when 
the  church  was  merely  a  machine  of  the 
state  and  a  martyred  victim  of  fanatical 
dissent,  yet  the  Pray er-Book,  like  the  Bible, 
contains  the  indestructible  seeds  of  God's 
truth ;  and  however  overborne  by  worldly 
influences  or  frozen  by  the  cold  neglect  of 
those  who  should  have  been  its  guardians 
and  defenders,  it  yet,  in  God's  own  time, 
asserts  its  vitality ;  and  the  same  form  of 
sound  words  in  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God  which  was  droned  through  in  the 
time  of  the  Georges,  guides  the  devotions 
of  the  English  Church  to-day  in  the  in- 
tense activity  of  her  life  throughout  the 
world. 

When  the  American  revolution  was 
complete,  certain  changes  were  necessary 
to  adapt  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  to 


Historical  11 

the  uses  of  the  American  Church.  At  first 
it  was  thought  sufficient  to  make  such 
changes  as  the  poUtical  condition  of  the 
country  required ;  but,  unfortunately,  the 
American  Church  at  that  period,  besides 
being  thoroughly  congregational,  by  rea- 
son of  the  lack  of  bishops,  was  also  seri- 
ously leavened  with  the  Socinian  heresy 
which  prevailed  at  the  time.  And  both 
the  Prayer-Book  and  the  Church  passed 
through  a  very  perilous  historical  crisis 
when  the  whole  book  was  revised  and  al- 
tered into  what  was  called  "  The  Proposed 
Book."  This  book  so  compromised  the 
essential  truths  of  the  Grospel  that  the 
English  bishops,  who  were  not  at  that 
time  notorious  for  their  devotion  to  the 
faith,  would  not  entertain  the  thought  of 
consecrating  a  bishop  for  the  United  States 
upon  the  basis  of  its  doctrinal  statements. 
Another  revision,  therefore,  was  made, 
and  certain  safe-guards  of  scriptural 
truth  were  restored ;  and  in  that  form  it 
was  adopted  by  the  American  Church,  and 
the  apostolic  episcopate  of  the  Anglican 
succession  was  in  due  time  given  to  this 
branch  of   the    church    catholic.     These 


12  tenure  First 

changes  are  barely  alluded  to  in  the  pref- 
ace to  our  Prayer-Book,  which,  next  to 
the  title-page  and  the  certificate  of  ratifi- 
cation, claim  our  attention. 


LECTUKE    SECOND 


2[ntrotiuctorp 


^lecture  ^ttovi} 


INTRODUCTORY 


HE  title-page  of  a  book,  like 
the  face  of  a  man,  is  an  index 
of  the  character  and  contents 
within.  From  the  title-page 
we  gather  that  there  are  four 
departments  in  the  Prayer-Book.  It  is  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer — of  the  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Sacraments — of  other  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  church — and  the 
Psalter,  or  Psalms  of  David.  In  fact,  there 
is  also  another  department  consisting  of 
the  forms  of  ordination,  consecration,  and 
institution  which  is  simply  the  Ordinal  of 
the  church. 

If  one  word  in  this  title-page  is  more 


16  Ledliire  Second 

emphatic  than  another,  it  is  that  which 
declares  the  worship  of  the  church  to  be 
an  order  of  Common  *Peayee  ;  that  is,  an 
arrangement  to  be  participated  in  audibly 
by  the  people  as  well  as  the  priest.  This 
conception  of  worship  is  so  fundamental 
to  the  system  that  there  is  not  a  single 
service  in  the  entire  book  in  which  the 
presence  and  participation  of  the  people 
are  not  provided  for.  And  the  services  of 
the  church  reach  their  most  impressive 
rendering  when  the  entire  congregation 
unites  audibly  and  earnestly  in  every  part 
of  the  office. 

The  ratification  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  is  the  certificate  of  its  authority ; 
and  no  copy  is  properly  authorized  unless 
it  has  with  this  ratification  the  certificate 
of  a  bishop  that  it  has  been  duly  compared 
with  the  standard  edition  by  a  Presbyter 
appointed  for  that  purpose.  The  ratifi- 
cation itself  is  the  seal  of  the  church's 
approval,  which  makes  it  the  appointed 
Liturgy  for  her  use  in  all  the  offices  of 
public  worship. 

The  preface  explains  very  briefly  the 
reasons  which  necessitated  any  change  at 


Introductory  17 

all  from  the  English  book,  and  asserts 
that,  in  these  changes,  "  This  church  is  far 
from  intending  to  depart  from  the  Church 
of  England  in  any  essential  point  of  doc- 
trine, discipline,  or  worship."  The  changes 
themselves  are  really  very  few.  The  first 
class  are  those  which  refer  to  civil  rulers, 
and  which  were  made  necessary  by  our 
independent  existence  as  a  nation.  They 
are  chiefly  verbal,  such  as  the  use  of  the 
words  "  president "  and  "  congress  "  in- 
stead of  "  king  "  and  "  parliament,"  with 
some  minor  changes  of  ecclesiastical  phra- 
seology, such  as  "  bishops  and  other  min- 
isters "  for  "  bishops  and  curates."  The 
second  class  is  composed  of  certain  litur- 
gical changes,  chiefly  in  the  way  of  abbre- 
viations. The  versicles  are  fewer  in  num- 
ber, and  the  canticles,  especially  Venite  and 
Benedictus,  are  abbreviated  by  the  omis- 
sion of  the  closing  verses ;  shorter  canti- 
cles in  the  Evening  Prayer  are  substituted 
for  the  Magnificat  and  Nunc  Dimittis,  and 
certain  obsolete  or  archaic  forms  and 
words  are  either  omitted  or  changed  into 
those  more  familiar  to  modern  use ;  the 
oblation  of  the  elements  and  the  invoca- 


18  Lecture  Second 

tion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Prayer  of 
Consecration  in  the  communion  office  are 
restored ;  the  absolution  in  the  Visitation 
of  the  Sick  is  changed  to  a  prayer ;  the 
Athanasian  creed  is  entirely  omitted,  and 
there  are  certain  verbal  alterations  in  the 
Te  Deum  and  the  Litany.  There  are  also 
Six  Selections  of  Psalms,  prefixed  to  the 
Psalter,  to  be  used  instead  of  the  regular 
Psalms  for  the  day.  But  with  all  these 
minor  changes  the  books  are  substantially 
the  same.  And  now,  after  the  lapse  of  a 
century,  in  the  process  of  revision  which 
is  reaching  its  completion  in  the  American 
Church,  the  omitted  verses  of  the  Venite 
and  Benedictus  are  inserted,  the  Magnifi- 
cat and  Nunc  Dimittis  are  restored  to  their 
place  in  the  Evening  Prayer,  and  the  sub- 
stantial identity  of  the  two  books  is  made 
more  complete  than  ever. 

It  is  the  glory  of  the  English  Church 
that  she  gave  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  the 
people  in  their  own  tongue.  And  it  is  per- 
fectly consistent  with  this  proud  position 
that  at  the  very  threshold  of  her  prayer- 
book  we  should  meet  with  directions  "  How 


Introdiidory  19 

the  Holy  Scriptures  are  appointed  to  be 
read."  These  tables  of  lessons  constitute 
"  The  Lectionary  "  of  the  church,  and  they 
comprehend  three  distinct  though  harmo- 
nious series.  First,  we  have  the  Table  of 
Lessons  for  the  Sundays,  which  cover  the 
entire  ground  of  the  Old  Testament,  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Epistles 
once  and  the  Historical  Grospels  twice  in 
the  coufse  of  the  year.  Second,  we  have 
the  Table  for  Holy  Days,  in  which  are  selec- 
tions appropriate  to  the  day,  part  of  which 
are  taken  from  the  Apocryphal  books,  and 
are  read  for  instruction  in  life.  And,  third, 
the  Table  of  Lessons  for. the  Daily  Service, 
in  which,  if  observed,  the  entire  Old  Testa- 
ment will  be  read  through  once  in  the  coirrse 
of  the  year,  and  the  New  Testament  twice. 
The  Lectionary  has  been  revised  in  recent 
years,  with  a  view  to  improving  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  lessons ;  and  appropri- 
ate tables  for  the  forty  days  of  Lent,  the 
Ember  and  Rogation  Days  have  also  been 
provided.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  at 
every  full  morning  service  there  are  two 
appointed  portions  of  Holy  Scripture,  the 
Epistle  and  the  Holy  Gospel,  and  we  have 


20  Le6lure  Second 

as  the  result  this  honorable  distinction, 
that  no  service  of  the  church  can  be  prop- 
erly rendered  without  at  least  two  lessons 
from  the  Word  of  .Grod,  and  that  in  the 
full  morning  service  of  Sunday,  or  festi- 
val, there  are  really  four  lessons  from  the 
Sacred  Scriptures. 

Next  to  the  Lectionary  comes  the  Table 
of  Feasts  and  Fasts.  These  are  of  two 
classes, — the  movable,  which  depend  upon 
the  date  of  Easter  Day  in  the  year,  and 
the  immovable,  which  always  occur  on  the 
same  date. 

It  is  needless  to  enter  into  the  methods 
for  computing  the  date  on  which  Easter 
Day  will  fall,  though  none  of  us  can  tell 
what  labor  and  thought  and  study,  what 
astronomical  knowledge  and  mathematical 
skill,  these  dry  tables  of  figures  and  rules 
of  computation  cost.  Practically  we  learn 
it  from  the  annual  calendars,  or  we  may 
ascertain  it  from  the  simple  table  of  the 
dates  on  which  Easter  will  fall  in  any 
year,  and  whose  understanding  requires 
no  mathematical  skill  at  all. 

The  immovable  feasts  are  mainly  the 
festivals  of  the  infancy  of  our  Lord,  and 


Introditdory  21 

of  the  Apostles  and  Martyrs ;  besides  two 
for  the  Blessed  Vn^gin  Mary,  one  for  All- 
Saints,  and  one  recently  added  to  commem- 
orate the  Transfiguration. 

There  are  but  two  fast  days  prescribed 
by  this  church.  They  are  Ash  Wednes- 
day and  Grood  Friday.  Other  days  of  ab- 
stinence are  set  apart  as  times  and  seasons 
when  we  are  to  assert  our  self-control  and 
find  a  wholesome  discipline  in  doing  so. 
These  are  the  forty  days  of  Lent,  the  Em- 
ber days  of  the  four  seasons,  the  Eogation 
days  and  ah  Fridays  of  the  year,  except 
when  a  Friday  coincides  with  Chiistmas 
day.  These  are  the  wise  prescriptions  of  a 
loving  mother  who  watches  over  the  spirit- 
ual health  of  her  children,  and  cares  for 
them  with  the  profoundest  solicitude. 
Many,  doubtless,  are  wayward  and  capri- 
cious in  their  obedience  to  her  precepts. 
There  is  an  unfortunate  spirit  of  antago- 
nism to  all  church  authority  and  an  asser- 
tion and  exercise  of  individual  judgment 
which  has  made  the  rule  of  our  self-denials 
a  very  flexible  and  lenient  one,  and  which 
does  not  hesitate  to  omit  any  duty  whose 
performance   might    be  inconvenient   or 


22  Lecture  Second 

mortifying  to  the  flesh.  And  there  is  a 
travesty  also  of  penitential  seasons  and 
acts  which  reduces  the  element  of  self-de- 
nial to  a  minimum  and  feigns  a  sorrow 
which  it  does  not  feel.  As  we  study  the 
provision  which  the  church  has  made  for 
our  spiritual  discipline,  we  cannot  but 
recognize  the  wide  contrast  there  is  in  serv- 
ice and  festival  and  fast  between  the  ideal 
church  of  the  Prayer-Book  and  the  actual 
church  of  our  every-day  history. 

And  yet  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  Prayer- 
Book  is  the  echo  of  the  Word  of  God.  It 
differs  from  the  Bible  only  in  this,  that 
the  Bible  is  a  mine  of  gold  filled  with  un- 
told and  uncounted  treasures,  while  the 
Prayer-Book  is  the  mint  in  which  that  gold 
has  been  coined  and  the  treasury  in  which 
it  is  stored  for  our  daily  use  in  life.  And 
there  is  nothing  which,  in  an  age  of  con- 
tradiction and  doubt,  would  more  surely 
tend  to  elevate  om-  Christian  life,  both 
personal  and  organic,  to  what  it  ought  to 
be,  than  a  simple  and  sincere  following  of 
its  prescriptions  and  order  entirely  aside 
from  the  precedents  of  English  history  or 
the  prejudices  of  our  American  life.    The 


Introdiidory  23 

precedents  of  English  history  have  often 
been  a  paralysis  to  the  working  energy  of 
the  church  and  to  the  devotional  reality  of 
its  "worship ;  while  the  prejudices  of  Amer- 
ican life  are  antagonistic  alike  to  its  histor- 
ical claims  and  its  conservative  methods. 
But  this  church  is  never  more  powerful 
in  her  influence  nor  more  successful  in  her 
work  than  when  she  is  consistently  true  to 
her  well-known  principles  and  methods  as 
defined  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 


LECTURE    THIRD 


Hectare  €]&irti 


THE    DAILY    MORNING    PRAYER 


HERE  is  a  significant  word  in 
the  title  of  the  Morning  Prayer : 
it  is  the  word  "  daily  " ;  and  it 
clearly  intimates  the  church's 
idea  as  to  the  frequency  with 
which  this  service  is  intended  to  be  used. 
And  yet  in  the  broad  liberty  which  the 
church  concedes  to  her  childi^en,  there  have 
been  those  who  have  argued  that  it  had 
no  significance  at  all.  The  more  common 
use  of  a  semi- weekly  service  on  Litany 
days,  or  of  a  Friday-evening  service  and 
lecture  in  accordance  with  popular  cus- 
tom, seems  to  have  obscured  the  idea  that 
the  daily  prayer  is  the  church's  rule  where 


28  Ledure  Third 

it  is  practicable.  In  many,  if  not  most, 
parishes  it  is  almost  impossible  to  observe 
the  maximum  rule  of  services  throughout 
the  year,  partly  for  want  of  a  sufficient 
staff  of  clergy,  and  partly  because  the 
people  are  so  scattered  that  a  congrega- 
tion cannot  be  assembled.  But  where 
such  is  the  case  it  is  a  misfortune  which 
we  ought  to  mourn  over  and  apologize  for 
rather  than  glory  in  and  defend.  The  law 
of  the  English  Church  requires  that  every 
priest  shall  say  his  Daily  Offices,  and  that 
where  he  cannot  obtain  a  congregation, 
however  small,  to  unite  with  him  in  the 
service  of  the  church,  he  is  to  say  them  in 
his  own  study  at  home,  as  part  of  his  reg- 
ular duty  for  the  day.  The  daily  service 
is  not  congenial  to  the  intense  hurry  and 
bustle  of  our  American  life,  and  yet  it 
may  be  only  the  more  needful  on  that  ac- 
count, and  it  is  a  growing  custom  that 
where  the  daily  prayer  cannot  be  said,  the 
church  door  at  least  can  stand  open  to 
welcome.those  who  may  turn  aside  to  seek 
a  quiet  moment  of  devotion  in  the  house 
of  Grod.  In  reaching  any  conclusion  on 
the  subject,  two  things  must  be  remem- 


The  Morning  Prayer  29 

bered.  First,  we  must  not  estimate  a  con- 
gregation by  the  popular  standard  of  an 
audience,  in  which  the  chilhng  effect  of 
empty  pews  upon  a  speaker  must  be  taken 
into  the  account.  A  praying  congregation 
is  a  very  different  assembly  from  the  multi- 
tude attracted  by  a  popular  speaker,  and 
our  Lord  has  fixed  the  minimum  of  such 
a  congregation  when  he  said :  "  Wliere 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 
Nor  must  we  forget  that  the  benefit  of 
such  services  of  prayer  cannot  bo  confined 
to  those  who  are  able  to  be  present  and 
participate  in  them.  If  we  believe  in  the 
efficacy  of  prayer  and  that  God  does  hear 
the  intercessions  of  his  peoj^le,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  his  blessing  will  descend  upon 
an  entire  parish, — upon  men  in  their 
counting-houses  and  shops  and  stores, 
upon  Christian  women  engaged  in  their 
domestic  duties,  upon  sufferers  on  sick- 
beds, and  upon  aged  and  infirm  mem- 
bers of  Christ  who  are  prevented  from 
coming  to  the  house  of  prayer, — in  answer 
to  the  petitions  offered  by  the  clergy 
and  people,  even  though  they  be  but  the 


30  Lecture  Third 

two  or  three  gathered  together  in  Christ's 
name. 

In  taking  up  the  study  of  the  entire  of- 
fice, it  is  natural  to  ask,  first  of  all,  is  there 
a  reason  for  its  arrangement  I  Why  does 
the  Lord's  Prayer  come  after  the  confes- 
sion and  absolution  instead  of  going  be- 
fore them  ?  Why  does  the  Creed  always 
follow  the  Lesson  or  the  Holy  Gospel  in- 
stead of  preceding  it  ?  Why  is  the  Yenite 
sung  before  the  Psalter  ?  And  why  is  the 
Collect  for  the  Day  necessarily  inserted  in 
the  Morning  Prayer  when  the  office  for 
the  Holy  Communion  is  not  used  ?  Each 
of  these  questions  has  a  rational  answer. 
For  throughout  the  entire  Book  there  is 
a  reason  for  every  detail  of  the  arrange- 
ment, whether  it  be  lesson,  or  canticle,  or 
creed,  or  collect.  But  this  rationale  of 
the  service  will  reveal  itself  to  us  as  we 
proceed  with  the  study  of  its  component 
parts. 

The  service  opens  with  one  or  more 
sentences  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  declare 
God's  willingness  to  hear  the  prayers  of 
his  people,  and  which  inspire  them  to 
di'aw  near  to   him.     There  is  sufficient 


The  Morning  Prayer  31 

variety  in  the  sentences  to  adapt  them  to 
the  various  seasons  of  the  Christian  year, 
and  thus  to  give  a  key-note  of  penitence 
or  of  joy  to  the  service  which  is  to  follow. 
Special  sentences  have  been  added  for  the 
principal  festivals  of  the  year.  The  ex- 
hortation is  a  comprehensive  homily  on 
the  uses  of  divine  worship,  as  including 
the  offering  of  thanks  for  Grod's  mercies, 
the  ascription  of  praise  to  him,  the  hear- 
ing of  his  Holy  Word,  the  utterance  of  our 
united  prayers  for  both  bodily  and  spirit- 
ual needs,  and  it  lifts  our  minds  to  that 
broad  conception  of  worship  which  the 
church  seeks  to  make  real  in  her  service. 
But  at  the  very  forefront  of  this  elabo- 
rate and  harmonious  act,  we  must  first 
draw  near  to  him  as  sinners  seeking  his 
mercy  and  forgiveness,  and  therefore  the 
first  combined  act  of  priest  and  people  is 
the  general  confession  of  our  sins.  This 
confession  is  general,  in  the  sense  that  it 
is  adapted  to  the  use  of  an  entire  congre- 
gation, and  also  that  it  does  not  enter  into 
specific  details.  It  can  be  individualized 
and  made  specific  by  any  particular  wor- 
shiper who  may  choose  to  do  so,  but  for 


32  Le£lure  Third 

public  use  it  must  maintaiu  its  general 
character.  The  absolution  is  equally  gen- 
eral— not  confined  to  individual  penitents 
nor  applying  verbally  to  specific  sins,  but 
comprehensive  enough  to  include  them 
all ;  and  this  declaration  of  Grod's  forgive- 
ness is  the  assurance  to  penitent  and  be- 
lieving hearts  of  his  pardoning  mercy  and 
love.  And  then,  with  this  assm'anee  of 
forgiveness,  we  are  able  to  rise  to  a  higher 
plane  of  devotion,  and  as  children  of  God 
to  take  the  sacred  words,  "  Our  Father," 
upon  oui"  lips. 

This  much  of  the  service  really  consti- 
tutes an  invocation  prayer,  or  a  prelimi- 
nary to  the  act  of  worship  upon  which  we 
now  enter  in  offering  our  praises  to  God. 
But  even  our  highest  songs  would  be  life- 
less and  dull  unless  inspired  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  and  therefore  the  act  of  praise  is 
preceded  by  a  prayer  for  the  divine  aid: 

"  0  Lord,  open  thou  our  lips ; 

"  And  our  mouth  shall  shew  forth  thy 
praise." 

We  rise  from  our  knees  and  strike  the 
key-note  of  all  Christian  worship  in  the 
formula  of  the  Gloria  Patri,  the  constant 


The  Morning  Prayer  33 

recurrence  of  which  throughout  the  serv- 
ice reminds  us  that  the  great  work  of  re- 
demption is  made  known  to  us  only  in 
connection  with  the  revelation  of  the 
adorable  Trinity. 

And  now  the  act  of  praise  begins.  First 
there  is  an  invitatory  psalm,  which  is 
a  prelude  to  the  Psalms  for  the  Day,  the 
portion  of  the  Psalter  being  the  opening 
hymn,  and  the  Gloria  Patri  is  added  to 
each  psalm  because  by  its  presence  there 
it  changes  a  Jewish  psalm  into  a  Christian 
hymn.  Having  thus  completed  our  open- 
ing act  of  prayer  and  praise,  we  are  ready 
"  to  hear  his  most  Holy  Word."  First,  a 
lesson  from  the  Old  Testament  is  read, 
which  is  almost  immediately  followed  by 
a  lesson  from  the  New,  to  illustrate  the 
harmony  of  the  law  and  the  gospel,  the 
historical  and  theological  unity  of  the 
Word  of  God.  These  lessons  are,  how- 
ever, separated  by  a  hymn,  for  the  church 
never  allows  her  children  to  be  made 
weary  in  their  worship,  and  therefore,  by 
constant  change  of  posture  and  by  a  har- 
monious variety  of  thought,  both  mind 
and  body  are  kept  from  fatigue,  and  there 


34  Le^nre  Third 

is  no  way  by  which  the  use  of  the  service 
will  be  more  full  of  freshness  and  force 
than  by  the  participation  of  the  worshiper 
in  attitude  and  voice  as  well  as  heart,  in 
all  its  parts.  As  we  sit  to  listen  to  the  les- 
son from  God's  Word,  which  is  the  proper 
attitude  in  which  to  receive  instruction 
in  the  church,  so  also  we  stand  to  sing  a 
hymn  of  praise,  the  Te  Deum,  or  the  Bene- 
dicite,  and  then  resume  our  seats  to  listen 
to  another  lesson  from  Grod's  truth,  which 
is  followed  by  its  appropriate  canticle.  It 
is  a  familiar  principle  that  "  Faith  cometh 
by  hearing  and  hearing  by  the  Word  of 
God."  It  is  logical  and  consistent,  there- 
fore, that  after  this  twofold  hearing  of  the 
Word  of  God  the  next  act  should  be  the 
profession  of  our  faith,  which  is  made  by 
repeating  the  creed.  Of  the  two  forms 
here  used,  the  Apostles'  Creed  is  the  older 
and  simpler,  and  is  suitable  for  ordinary 
occasions ;  the  Nicene  is  fuller  in  its  state- 
ment, and  is  appropriate  when  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Communion  is  to  follow. 
And  now  that  we  have  asserted  our  uni- 
versal priesthood  in  the  offering  of  our 
prayers   and  praises, —  that  we  have  de- 


The  Morning  Prayer  35 

clared  our  discipleship  by  listening  to  the 
instructions  of  his  Word,  as  scholars  in  the 
school  of  Christ, — and  having  claimed 
our  membership  in  the  household  of  faith 
by  the  repetition  of  the  creed,  we  are 
ready  to  fall  upon  our  knees  in  prayer 
again  to  ask  God  for  those  things  which 
are  requisite  and  necessary,  "as  well  for 
the  body  as  the  soul,"  which  we  next  pro- 
ceed to  do  in  the  prayers  which  follow,  to 
the  end  of  the  service. 

It  becomes  evident  that  there  is  a  litur- 
gical reason  for  every  particular  and  de- 
tail in  the  arrangement  of  the  Morning 
Prayer ;  that  there  is  a  scientific  idea  un- 
derlying its  order  —  that  each  separate  act 
comes  just  at  its  proper  place,  and  that  its 
varied  details  constitute  one  united  and 
harmonious  whole. 


LECTURE    FOUETH 


Hcctiurc    fmvctfy 


THE    MORNING    PRAYEK 


AVING  explained  the  general 
arrangement  of  the  Morning 
Prayer  and  the  harmony  of  its 
various  parts  as  they  blend 
into  a  united  whole,  we  next 
proceed  to  study  in  detail  the  component 
elements  of  which  it  is  constructed.  These 
in  the  main  are  taken  either  from  Holy 
Scripture  or  from  the  Ancient  Liturgies, 
with  here  and  there  a  homily  that  is  the 
product  of  the  reformation  period. 

The  Sentences  with  which  the  service 
opens  are  suited  to  inspire  an  appropri- 
ate reverence  as  we  enter  upon  the  solemn 
act  of  worship,  while  there  is  a  sufficient 


40  Lecture  Fourth 

variety  to  adapt  them  to  the  different  sea- 
sons of  the  Christian  year.  Some  are 
general  in  their  character,  adapted  to  any 
occasion  of  worship ;  others  are  more  es- 
pecially suited  to  penitential  seasons:  — 
some  to  the  preparation  for  the  Holy  Com- 
munion ;  one  particularly  to  the  Epiphany, 
and  others,  recently  added,  to  other  spe- 
cial seasons  of  the  church  year ;  but  all 
combine  to  remind  us  of  the  humility 
and  penitence  with  which,  as  sinners,  we 
are  to  draw  near  to  God.  It  is  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  officiating  minister  to  use 
whichever  may  be  specifically  appropriate 
to  any  particular  occasion. 

And  now  that  we  are  reminded  of  the 
solemnity  and  responsibility  of  our  ap- 
proach to  Grod,  there  is  a  fuller  statement 
of  its  authority  and  object  in 

THE   EXHORTATION, 

which  follows  the  sentences.  This  exhor- 
tation finds  its  origin  in  the  custom  of  the 
Reformation  period,  when  the  Prayer-Book 
was  revised.  The  standard  of  learning 
was  very  low  among  tiie  clergy,  and,  there- 


The  Morning  Prayer  41 

fore,  homilies  were  provided  to  take  the 
place  of  sermons,  and  when  an  exhorta- 
tion was  to  be  delivered  to  the  congrega- 
tion it  was  inserted  in  the  Prayer-Book. 
We  have  other  instances  of  snch  exhorta- 
tion in  the  office  for  the  Holy  Communion, 
in  the  address  to  the  sponsors  in  Holy  Bap- 
tism, in  the  order  for  the  visitation  of  the 
sick,  and  for  the  setting  apart  of  deacons, 
priests,  and  bishops. 

The  exhortation  in  the  Morning  Prayer, 
while  its  general  object  is  to  incite  us  to 
a  true  confession  and  acknowledgment  of 
our  sins,  is  particularly  valuable  to  us  as 
defining  the  church's  idea  of  the  objects 
and  purposes  of  public  worship.  And  its 
constant  repetition  is  an  emphatic  pro- 
test against  the  idea  that  we  are  to  go  to 
church  merely  to  hear  the  sermon.  It  is 
that  erroneous  notion  which  has  made 
so  many  assemblies  of  Christian  people 
mere  auditors  and  spectators,  which  has 
almost  eliminated  the  element  of  worship 
from  the  popular  religion,  and  which  has 
elevated  the  demand  of  the  itching  ear 
above  the  requirement  of  the  penitent 
heart. 


42  Ledltire  Fourth 

Four  essential  elements  are  spoken  of 
as  entering  into  public  worship.  These 
are :  (1)  Rendering  thanks  for  the  great 
benefits  we  have  received ;  (2)  Setting 
forth  God's  most  worthy  praise ;  (3)  Hear- 
ing his  most  Holy  Word,  and  (4)  Asking 
those  things  which  are  requisite  and  nec- 
essary as  well  for  the  body  as  the  soul. 
In  briefer  words,  they  are  thanksgiving, 
praise,  instruction,  and  prayer;  and  the 
fitting  prelude  to  them  all  is  the  humble 
and  penitent  confession  of  our  sin. 

This  is  provided  for  in  the 

GENEKAL   CONFESSION, 

which  is  then  to  be  said  by  the  minister 
and  the  congregation.  For  it  must  ever 
be  remembered  that  the  ministry  is  taken 
from  among  men,  and  that  the  heavenly 
treasm*e  of  the  grace  of  holy  orders  is 
committed  to  earthen  vessels,  and  that  in 
leading  the  devotions  of  the  people  the 
saintliest  and  purest  minister  of  Christ 
must  utter  his  deep  acknowledgment  of 
sin  as  well  as  the  weakest  and  most  erring 
member  of  his  flock.    This  confession  is 


The  Morning  Prayer  43^ 

general,  first  because  all  are  required  to 
make  it;  and  it  stands  in  contrast  with 
that  personal  and  particular  confession  of 
sin  which  was  the  custom  at  the  time  of 
the  Eeformation,  and  to  supply  the  place 
of  which  this  general  confession  was  put 
into  the  service ;  and  it  is  general,  further, 
because  it  is  expressed  in  terms  so  general 
that  it  is  suitable  to  all.  Any  more  particu- 
lar form  would  have  been  inadequate  to 
the  uses  of  a  miscellaneous  congregation. 
It  would  be  impossible  for  each  one  to 
specify  audibly  his  own  short-comings  and 
faults,  but  he  can  think  of  them  and  in- 
clude them  in  the  comprehensive  language 
which  the  church  here  provides.  The 
analysis  of  the  prayer  gives  us  two  parts 
beside  the  Introduction,  which  is  the  ad- 
di'ess  to  Almighty  Grod.  They  are :  (1) 
The  Confession  (a)  of  our  sins  of  omis- 
sion and  (b)  of  our  sins  of  commission, 
and  (2)  The  Supplication  for  (a)  pardon  for 
the  past  and  (b)  grace  for  the  future:  It 
thus  includes  all  that  an  assembled  con- 
gregation need  to  acknowledge  or  to  ask 
for ;  it  could  not  be  more  comprehensive 
than  it  is,  and  it  need  not  be  more  par- 


44  Le5ture  Fourth 

ticular,  since  it  is  to  be  said  alike  by  all,  and 
is  therefore  adapted  to  the  spiritual  condi- 
tion and  needs  of  all. 

The  Confession  is  naturally  followed  by 

THE  DECLAKATION  OF  ABSOLUTION, 

which  is  to  be  made  by  the  priest  alone, 
as  contrasted  with  the  case  of  a  deacon  or 
lay  reader  officiating  in  the  service ;  and  it 
is  to  be  made  by  him  standing  as  a  token 
that  it  is  an  authoritative  declaration,  in- 
tended to  convey  the  assurance  of  pardon 
to  penitent  hearts,  and  not  a  mere  platitude 
which  any  one  can  repeat  who  chooses  to 
do  so.  There  are  two  forms  of  the  Abso- 
lution :  the  first  suited  to  a  promiscuous 
congregation ;  the  other  especially  adapted 
to  an  assembly  of  the  faithful.  This  sec- 
ond one  belongs  properly  to  the  Commun- 
ion Office,  and  should  be  used  only  there. 
The  two  are,  however,  but  different  forms 
of  the  same  thing,  and  they  are  alike  in- 
tended to  guard  against  the  groundless 
trust  in  sacerdotal  power  which  prevailed 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  as  well 
as  against  narrow  views  of  Clod's  mercy 


The  Morning  Prayer  45 

which  had  begun  to  find  acceptance  with- 
in the  church.  The  Absolution  contains 
four  particulars :  the  declaration  of  God's 
mercy  to  repentant  sinners;  the  author- 
ity of  his  ministers  to  pronounce  pardon 
to  the  penitent;  the  declaration  of  that 
pardon  on  condition  of  true  faith  and 
hearty  repentance,  and  an  admonition  to 
seek  for  the  help  of  God's  Holy  Spiiit,  that 
the  pardon  pronounced  in  the  church  on 
earth  may  be  effectual  to  our  eternal  sal- 
vation. To  this  solemn  and  authoritative 
proclamation  the  people  are  to  say,  Amen. 
This  natui'ally  leads  us  to  notice  the  use 
of  the  "  Amen "  in  the  services  of  the 
church.  In  some  places  it  is  said  by  both 
priest  and  people,  as  in  the  General  Con- 
fession, the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Gloria 
Patri,  and  the  Creeds  ;  but  in  the  Absolu- 
tion, the  Collects,  and  the  Prayers  it  is  said 
by  the  people  only,  the  significance  of 
which  is,  that  by  that  act  they  add  the  ef- 
ficacy and  the  faith  of  their  own  universal 
priesthood  to  the  single  voice  and  minis- 
terial act  of  the  officiating  priest.  This 
distinction  is  always  recognized  by  the 
type  in  which  the  Amens   are  printed, 


46  Le5ture  Fourth 

those  whicli  are  said  iu  common  being  in 
the  same  type  as  the  prayer,  and  those 
which  are  responsive  being  printed  in 
italics. 

The  Lord's  Peayee  naturally  follows 
these  preliminary  acts,  and  it  is  to  be  said 
by  the  minister  and  the  people  kneeling. 
The  English  rubric  expressly  requires  that 
it  be  said  in  an  audible  voice.  This  refers 
to  the  early  use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  when 
it  was  said  silently  by  the  priest,  and  the 
audible  ser\dce  began  with  the  versicle 
following.  But  the  more  recent  custom 
allows  the  priest  to  use  his  own  secretimi 
or  private  prayer  before  each  service,  and 
makes  the  Lord's  Prayer  more  really  the 
prayer  of  the  faithful,  as  the  rubric  re- 
quires that  both  here  and  wheresoever  it 
is  used  in  Divine  Service  it  is  to  be  said 
by  all  as  the  children  of  God  and  the 
members  of  his  family.  The  only  excep- 
tion to  this  rule  is  in  the  o]3ening  words  of 
the  Communion  Office,  where  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  the  Collect  for  purity  consti- 
tute the  secreta  of  the  priest  and  may  be 
said  alone  by  him. 


The  Morning  Prayer  47 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  version  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  this  service  differs  in 
phraseology  not  only  from  that  of  the 
English  Prayer-Book,  but  also  from  the 
forms  of  it  given  by  St.  Matthew  (eh.  6 :  13) 
and  St.  Luke  (ch.  11 : 4).  But  as  the  Script- 
ure vex'sions  differ  from  each  other,  in  one 
of  them  the  doxology  being  entirely  omit- 
ted, the  version  is  sufficiently  accurate  for 
devotional  use. 

The  Veksicles  which  follow  are  taken 
from  Psalms  51 :  5,  and  have  been  used  in 
this  particular  place  in  the  Liturgy  since 
the  sixth  century. 

The  Gloria  Patei  is  one  of  the  oldest 
formularies  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  had 
its  origin,  doubtless,  in  the  baptismal  for- 
mula which  our  Lord  gave  to  his  apostles. 
The  revelation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity is  the  key-note  of  our  redemption ;  and 
the  prophecies  of  the  distant  past,  the 
mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  and  the  bap- 
tism of  the  Pentecost  are  all  summed  up 
in  this  brief  statement,  which  is  at  once  a 
creed,  and  a  hymn,  and  a  watchword  of 


48  tenure  Fourth 

Christian  faith  throughout  the  world  and 
through  all  time. 

The  act  of  praise  begins  with  the  Venite 
Ex'iiUemus,  which  has  been  used  as  an  in- 
vitatory  in  the  church's  worship  from  the 
very  earliest  period.  The  closing  verses 
were  omitted  in  the  first  American  revis- 
ion, but  have  recently  been  restored,  and 
the  entire  psalm  is  to  be  used  on  the  Sun- 
days in  Lent.  On  other  days  the  abbre- 
viated form  may  be  used,  except  upon  days 
for  which  special  anthems  are  appointed, 
as  Easter  and  Thanksgiving  Day,  or  when 
one  of  the  selections  is  used  instead  of  the 
Psalms  for  the  Day,  and  upon  the  19th 
day  of  the  month  when  it  occurs  in  the 
regular  course  of  the  Psalter. 

The  invitatory  is  the  natural  prelude  to 
the  Psalms  for  the  Day.  Our  attention  is 
at  once  arrested  by  the  fact  that  the  Vek- 
siON  of  the  Psalms  in  the  Prayer-Book  dif- 
fers from  that  of  our  ordinary  bibles — a 
fact  which,  when  understood,  is  an  honor 
to  the  church,  since  it  is  the  reminder  that 
our  English  Prayer-Book  is  older  than  the 
popular  version  of  the  Holy  Bible.    The 


The  Morning  Prayer  49 

Psalter  and  all  other  scriptural  portions  of 
the  Prayer- Book  were  first  taken  from  the 
translation  of  Tyndale  and  Coverdale  (A. 
D.  1535),  which  was  revised  by  Cranmer 
in  1539,  and  the  epistles  and  gospels  were 
not  changed  to  their  present  form  until 
after  the  last  revision  of  the  Authorized 
Version  of  the  Scriptures  in  1661.  But  by 
this  time  the  choirs  and  congregations 
were  so  accustomed  to  the  earlier  version 
of  the  Psalter,  and  its  rhythm  was  so  much 
better  adapted  to  a  musical  rendering  than 
the  later  version,  that  it  was  permitted  to 
remain  as  the  arrangement  for  devotional 
use.  We  gain  a  decided  advantage  to-day 
by  having  two  versions  of  this  most  in- 
teresting and  important  portion  of  Holy 
Scripture,  since  each  has  its  advantages  in 
accuracy  of  translation,  and  both  together 
form  a  kind  of  philological  stereoscope  by 
which  we  can,  at  the  same  time,  get  two 
distinct  views  of  the  original. 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  these 
Lectures  to  discuss  the  interpretation  of 
the  Psalms  or  the  occasions  which  gave 
rise  to  their  composition.  That  would  in- 
clude a  broad  field  of  exegesis,  for  the  lit- 
5 


50  Lecture  Fourth 

erature  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  an  exten- 
sive library  in  itself.  Our  concern  with  it  in 
the  Liturgy  requires  that  we  take  simply 
the  book  itself  as  the  wondrous  provision 
which  Grod  has  made  for  the  worship  of  the 
universal  church,  the  rich  and  inexhausti- 
ble treasury  of  inspired  poetry  and  sacred 
song  which  has  furnished  to  every  age  and 
land,  to  every  vicissitude  of  human  life, 
to  penitence  and  faith,  to  sorrow  and  joy, 
its  most  fitting  and  perfect  expression. 

The  ARRANGEMENT  of  tMs  book  for  de- 
votional use,  however,  is  worthy  of  notice; 
for  there  have  been  many  arrangements 
of  the  Psalter  in  the  history  of  the  church. 
Some  have  included  the  entire  book  in  the 
devotions  of  a  single  week;  others  have 
had  special  fixed  psalms  for  the  Sundays 
of  the  year;  and  thus  some  portions  of  the 
Psalter  are  constantly  repeated,  while  oth- 
ers are  scarcely  known  at  all.  But  by  the 
monthly  arrangement  of  the  Psalter,  and 
the  constant  change  of  the  day  of  the 
month  on  which  Sunday  falls,  the  whole 
book  is  brought  into  service,  and  its  con- 
tents are  better  known  by  its  various  por- 
tions being  used  in  turn.    We  may  not 


The  Morning  Prayer  51 

hope  to  reach  the  familiarity  with  the 
Psalms  which  was  common  in  the  early- 
church,  when  they  were  "repeated  so  often 
that  the  poorest  Christian  could  say  them 
by  heart,  and  used  to  say  them  at  their 
labor  in  their  houses  and  in  the  fields." 
(Proctor,  p.  216.) 

But  they  are  still  our  precious  heritage, 
suitable  alike  for  the  highest  worship  of 
the  sanctuary,  the  sacred  solitude  of  the 
closet,  or  the  patient  suffering  of  the  sick- 
chamber,  and  in  each  and  all  adapting 
themselves  to  the  varying  needs  and  sor- 
rows of  human  hearts. 

The  question  as  to  whether  the  Psalter 
should  be  "  said"  or  "  sung,"  is  one  which 
can  have  but  one  answer  in  theory,  how- 
ever it  may  vary  in  practice.  It  would  be 
considered  an  anomaly  in  worship  to  read 
the  uninspired  hymns  which  are  used,  and 
much  more,  therefore,  should  the  inspired 
hymns  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  dignified  by 
a  musical  rendering.  That  they  were  in- 
tended to  be  sung  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
but  the  incapacity  of  an  infant  church  to 
carry  out  this  intention  may  be  an  excuse 
for  reading  them.  But  in  the  hght  of  God's 


D'Z 


Le^ure  Fourth 


Word,  where  singers  were  always  ap- 
pointed for  the  sanctuary ;  in  the  hearing 
of  the  distant  echo  of  psalm  and  canticle, 
as  they  float  down  to  us  through  the  ages 
from  the  Tabernacle  and  Temple  serv- 
ice ;  in  the  memory  of  the  Grreater  Hallel 
which  was  sung  in  the  upper  chamber  at 
Jerusalem  eighteen  hundred  years  ago, 
and  whose  chorus  now  fills  the  world; 
in  the  distant  song  which  broke  the  silence 
of  the  Catacombs;  in  the  unceasing  an- 
tiphon  which  from  cathedral  choir  and 
parish  church  now  follows  the  sun  in  its 
pathway  around  the  world ;  and  in  the 
apocalyptic  hints  of  the  song  that  is  ever 
new,  which  is  wafted  to  our  ears  to-day 
across  the  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire, 
we  must  recognize  the  intention  and  pur- 
pose of  Grod  that  the  Psalms  should  be 
sung  in  his  holy  house,  and  this  fulfillment 
of  the  intention  is  growing  more  and  more 
general,  as  the  musical  culture  and  litur- 
gical taste  of  the  church  are  becoming 
equal  to  its  demand. 


LECTURE    FIFTH 


€^t  i^i^oming  ^^mpct 


%tttmt  fiftl) 


THE   MORNING    PRAYER 


(From  the  Psalter  to  the  end) 

HE  arrangement  of  the  Lessons 
from  Holy  Scripture  has  al- 
ready been  referred  to  in  treat- 
ing of  the  Lectionary,  but  it 
is  to  be  observed  that  it  is 
a  striking  illustration  of  the  prominence 
which  this  church  gives  to  the  reading  of 
Holy  Scripture  in  public  worship.  The 
threefold  course  of  lessons  throughout  the 
year,  with  the  lessons  for  special  seasons, 
is  the  standard  of  the  estimate  which  the 
church  places  upon  the  Inspired  Word. 

We   come    now    to    another    principle 
which  has  always  characterized  the  great 


56  Lecture  Fifth 

liturgies  of  the  churcli, —  namely,  that  the 
reading  of  Grod's  Word  in  the  public  serv- 
ice has  always  been  interspersed  with  the 
singing  of  hymns.  Following  this  princi- 
ple, the  church  has  placed  after  the  First 
Lesson  two  hymns,  which  have  occupied 
their  present  position  from  time  imme- 
morial. The  first  of  these  is  the  Te  Deum 
Laudamus,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
the  Canticle  of  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Au- 
gustine. Its  origin  is  lost  in  the  legend- 
ary shadows  of  a  venerable  past,  and  its 
authorship  has  been  attributed  to  various 
persons  from  A.  D.  355  to  A.  D.  535.  In 
all  probability  it  was  a  growth  rather  than 
an  inspiration,  and  for  fifteen  centuries 
it  has  borne  the  praise  of  Grod  from  the 
church  on  earth  to  the  throne  on  high.  It 
is,  doubtless,  the  most  ancient  Christian 
hymn,  with  the  exception  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed  and  the  Grloria  in  Excelsis,  and  its 
analysis  would  be  a  most  interesting  study. 
It  consists  of  three  distinct  parts :  an  Act 
of  Praise,  a  Creed,  and  a  Prayer.  In  the 
first  it  represents  all  creatures  in  heaven 
and  earth,  angel  and  archangel,  cherubim 
and  seraphim,  apostles,  prophets,  and  mar- 


The  Morning  Prayer  57 

tyrs,  and  the  struggling  children  of  God 
throughout  all  the  world,  as  bowing  in 
adoration  before  the  Eternal  Trinity ;  and 
in  it  the  song  of  the  church  on  earth 
catches  an  echo  of  the  song  that  is  ever 
new,  the  song  not  only  of  Moses,  but  of 
the  Lamb,  and  which  tells  not  only  of 
Eden  and  Sinai,  but  of  Calvary  and 
Heaven. 

The  second  part  is  a  confession  of  faith, 
in  which  the  great  facts  of  the  Incarna- 
tion are  more  particularly  detailed,  the 
great  humility  of  our  Lord  in  his  birth 
and  death;  his  triumph  over  its  sharp- 
ness ;  his  session  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father  and  his  coming  again  to  judg- 
ment. 

The  third  part  is  a  prayer  for  all  those 
who  worship  and  serve  him,  and  for  our- 
selves, that  we  may  be  kept  from  future 
sin,  and  find  pardon  because  we  trust  in 
him.  It  is  the  sublimest  uninspired  hymn 
in  human  language,  and  its  catholicity  is 
the  index  of  its  power,  since  it  is  sung 
alike  in  Eoman  and  Protestant  churches, 
Greek  and  Anglican,  East  and  West,  every- 
where throughout  all  the  world. 


58  Lecture  Fifth 

The  Benedieite  is  the  Song  of  tlie  three 
Hebrew  children  in  the  fiery  furnace, 
and  is  an  enlarged  paraphrase  of  Psalm 
148.  It  is  taken  from  the  Greek  addition 
to  the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  while  it  is  ju- 
bilant in  its  tone  of  praise,  it  has,  never- 
theless, been  used  principally  in  Lent,  be- 
cause it  was  the  song  of  God's  children  in 
affliction.  It  is  also  specially  appropriate 
to  any  Sunday  of  the  Cliiistian  year  when 
the  First  Lesson  refers  to  the  act  of  crea- 
tion. 

It  is  susceptible  of  very  complete  analy- 
sis, and  a  careful  study  of  its  contents  re- 
veals many  beauties  and  harmonies  which 
the  ordinary  reading  or  singing  does  not 
suggest.  There  is  a  natural  procession  of 
thought  in  it  which  makes  it  but  the  more 
significant  and  effective  when  properly  un- 
derstood, but  the  full  explanation  of  its 
contents  belongs  to  the  exegesis  rather 
than  to  liturgies. 

The  recent  revision  has  added  another 
canticle,  "  Benedictus  es,"  which  is  shorter 
than  the  Te  Deum  or  the  Benedieite  and 
which  may  be  convenient  where  the  Daily 
Office  is  said. 


The  Morning  Prayer  59 

The  canticles  which  follow  the  Second 
Lesson  are  the  Benedictus  and  the  Jubi- 
late. Both  have  been  used  in  an  abbre- 
viated form,  but  the  full  Benedictus  has 
been  restored  by  the  last  American  revis- 
ion. It  is  especially  appropriate  during 
Christmastide,  or  on  the  festivals  of  our 
Blessed  Lord,  while  the  Jubilate  is  adapted 
to  the  season  of  Epiphany.  On  other 
Sundays  they  may  be  used  indiscrimi- 
nately. The  Benedictus  is  a  Grospel  hymn 
celebrating  the  goodness  of  Grod  in  redemp- 
tion. The  Jubilate  is  an  older  and  better 
form  of  the  popular  doxology,  "  Praise  Grod 
from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

The  De  Profundis  has  been  added  as 
a  third  canticle  after  the  Second  Lesson, 
and  its  use  is  appropriate  during  Lent  and 
other  penitential  seasons  of  the  year.  The 
choice  of  the  canticle  at  any  particular 
time  gives  the  tone,  either  jubilant  or  pen- 
itential, to  the  service,  and  thus  provides 
for  a  variety  which  adapts  it  more  closely 
to  any  special  season. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  Ckeed,  which 
is  the    confession  of    our  belief    in  the 


60  Le£lure  Fifth 

faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  The 
explanation  of  its  contents  belongs  to  the 
study  of  theology,  and  would  require  a 
volume  to  do  justice  to  it.  Our  concern 
in  these  instructions  is  simply  with  its 
liturgical  use.  First,  the  position  of  the 
Creed  in  the  service  demands  our  atten- 
tion. Its  place  in  the  Morning  and  Even- 
ing Prayer  corresponds  precisely  with  its 
place  in  the  Communion  Office ;  that  is  to 
say,  it  follows  a  lesson  from  the  Word  of 
God.  The  significance  of  this  position  is 
explained  by  a  statement  of  St.  Paul  which 
has  almost  passed  into  an  axiom,  that 
"  Faith  Cometh  by  hearing  and  hearing  by 
the  Word  of  God."  So  that  there  is  a 
logical  propriety  in  the  Creed  following 
immediately  after  the  lesson  or  the  Holy 
Gospel,  as  much  as  to  say,  that,  having 
heard  the  Word  of  God,  we  are  now  ready 
to  profess  our  faith  which  has  come  by  that 
hearing;  and  this  we  do  by  the  repetition 
of  the  ancient  symbol  in  which  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints  has  borne  its 
changeless  testimony  to  the  ages  and  gen- 
erations of  men.  And  no  act  of  common 
or  public  worship  is  complete  without  it. 


The  Morning  Prayer  61 

There  are  two  minor  ceremonial  acts 
connected  with  the  repetition  of  the  Creed 
to  which  reference  may  be  briefly  made. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  reverence  at  the 
sacred  name.  The  origin  of  the  custom 
undoubtedly  roots  itself  in  the  early  cent- 
uries, when  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  first  called  in  question,  and  the 
heresy  in  regard  to  that  fundamental  truth 
began  to  assert  itself  in  the  churches.  At 
such  a  time  it  was  an  expressive  testimony 
of  a  true  faith  to  make  due  and  lowly  rev- 
erence at  the  sacred  name,  because  it  im- 
plied that  the  man  Christ  Jesus  was  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh.  To  stand  upright 
at  such  a  time  with  a  bold  and  defiant  air 
was  equivalent  to  identification  with  the 
skepticism  which  doubted  or  the  rational- 
ism which  refined  upon  and  explained 
away  the  divinity  of  our  Lord;  but  to  make 
the  reverence  at  the  sacred  name  was  to 
acknowledge  him  to  be  God  as  well  as 
man.  It  would  not  be  safe  to  say  that 
this  distinction  still  adheres  to  the  use  of 
the  reverence  or  its  omission ;  but,  in  a 
conspicuously  and  intentionally  irreverent 
age  like  the  present,  we  do  well  to  main- 
6 


62  Le£lure  Fifth 

tain  a  custom  whose  significance  and  an- 
tiquity alike  entitle  it  to  respect.  And  the 
significance  of  the  reverence  in  the  Creed 
is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  it  is  required 
only  there.  In  the  older  canons  of  the 
English  Church  there  is  one  which  pro- 
vides that  "  due  and  lowly  reverence 
should  be  made  wherever  the  name  of 
Jesus  occults  in  divine  service."  But  the 
reverence,  like  the  sign  of  the  cross,  is  apt 
to  lose  its  value  by  too  frequent  repetition, 
and,  therefore,  it  is  confined  to  its  use  in 
the  Creed,  as  the  cross  is  required  only  in 
the  reception  of  the  candidate  after  Holy 
Baptism,  the  presence  of  each  respectively 
in  these  particular  acts  of  Christian  life 
and  worship  actually  including  all  others. 
Their  use  in  other  places  is  merely  a  mat- 
ter of  individual  taste,  not  required  nor 
forbidden  by  general  usage  or  canon  law. 
The  reverent  inclination  of  the  head  in  the 
Gloria  Patri  is  an  entirely  different  thing 
from  the  reverence  in  the  Creed,  for  it  is 
based  simply  upon  the  analogy  that  the 
angels  veil  their  faces  in  the  eternal  Tris- 
agion  of  heaven.  But  the  reverence  at  the 
name  of  Jesus  in  the  Grloria  in  Excelsis  is 


The  Morning  Prayer  63 

identical  with  that  iu  the  Creed,  and  though 
not  prescribed  either  by  general  custom  or 
law,  it  is  the  privilege  of  any  Christian  to 
use  it  if  his  heart  prompts  him  so  to  do. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  "  Why 
not  bow  at  the  name  of  God,  the  Father, 
or  of  God,  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  "  To  which 
the  answer  is,  that  the  meaning  of  the 
reverence  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  made  at 
the  name  Jesus,  which  is  the  human  and 
historical  title  of  his  manhood  and  which 
belongs  exclusively  to  his  human  nature. 
So  that  by  making  the  reverence  at  that 
name  we  declare  oui'  belief  in  the  Deity  of 
the  man  Christ  Jesus.  We  need  no  such 
outward  act  when  we  use  the  name  Christ, 
for  that  is  his  official  name,  and  means  that 
he  is  "the  Anointed  of  God";  but  the 
name  "Jesus"  is  the  designation  of  the 
Babe  of  Bethlehem,  the  despised  Nazarene; 
the  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief,  the  victim  of  the  Jewish  mob  at 
Jerusalem,  the  silent  and  uncomplaining 
captive  before  Pilate,  the  crucified  man  on 
Calvary ;  and  by  this  token  we  silently  de- 
clare that  to  him  we  pay  divine  honors 
and  that  he  is  our  God. 


64  Le£lure  Fifth 

There  is  another  traditional  custom  con- 
nected with  the  repetition  of  the  Creed, 
which  is  used  chiefly,  however,  in  cathe- 
dral services,  though  sometimes  adopted 
in  parish  churches  also:  it  is  the  custom 
of  "  Orientation,"  or  turning  toward  the 
east  during  its  recital.  The  attitude  had 
its  origin  in  the  ancient  idea  that  the  East 
is  the  source  of  light  and  purity,  while  the 
West  is  the  abode  of  darkness  and  evil.  In 
the  ancient  church  it  was  customary  for 
candidates  for  Holy  Baptism  to  turn  their 
faces  toward  the  west  in  renouncing  the 
devil  and  all  his  works,  and  to  turn  toward 
the  east  in  professing  their  belief  in  the 
articles  of  the  Christian  Faith.  The  ob- 
servance of  the  custom  is  rare  in  parish 
churches,  though  general  in  England, 
where  no  partisan  significance  is  attached 
to  it.  It  is  like  the  custom  of  chivalry 
in  which  every  knight  laid  his  hand  upon 
the  hilt  of  his  sword  when  repeating 
the  Creed,  to  indicate  that,  if  need  be,  he 
would  wield  his  weapon  in  its  defense, 
a  custom  which  has  passed  away  with 
the  chivalric  spirit  in  which  it  had  its 
origin. 


The  Morning  Prayer  65 

Following  the  Creed  we  have  next  the 
Mutual  Benediction  of  Priest  and  People, 
as  if  in  commendation  of  the  spirits  of 
all  to  His  care  and  strength  who  alone  is 
able  to  keep  us  from  falling  and  enable  us 
to  maintain  our  steadfastness  unto  the 
end.  And  then,  in  the  Veksicles  which 
follow,  there  is  a  double  prayer  expressed 
in  briefest  words,  but  including  in  its  pe- 
tition the  two  great  needs  of  the  human 
heart.  They  are  pardon  and  purity.  The 
one  refers  to  the  actions  of  our  hves,  for 
whose  shortcoming  and  sinfulness  we  ever 
need  the  mercy  of  God ;  and  the  other  re- 
fers to  the  purity  of  our  hearts,  to  effect 
which  we  ever  need  the  cleansing  and 
sanctifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  comprehensiveness  of  these  Versi- 
cles,  standing  thus  at  the  commencement 
of  our  prayers  to  Almighty  God,  is  very 
significant.  They  seem  to  strike  the  key- 
note of  all  the  spiritual  blessings  that  we 
need,  the  pardon  of  our  actual  sins,  and 
the  purification  of  our  nature;  in  one 
word,  the  destruction  of  sin,  both  in  its 
guilt  and  power. 


66  Leisure  Fifth 

Following  this  key-note  of  Christian 
prayer  we  have  next  "  The  Collect  for  the 
Day,"  a  prayer  which  changes  week  after 
week  with  the  varying  seasons  of  the 
Christian  year;  which  recalls  every  fact 
in  the  Incarnation;  which  is  a  memorial 
of  the  commemoration  of  saint  and  mar- 
tyr ;  and  which  is  a  constant  reminder  of 
the  Eucharistic  Office  to  which  it  belongs. 

The  two  permanent  Collects  which  fol- 
low are  those  for  peace  and  grace.  They 
are  suitable  for  every  day  of  our  earthly 
life,  as  they  invoke  God's  protection 
against  the  assaults  of  all  oui*  enemies  and 
his  guidance  and  governance  in  our  daily 
lives.  Next  in  order  comes  the  Prayer  for 
Rulers,  and  all  in  civil  authority,  which  is 
based  upon  the  apostolic  injunction  to 
pray  for  the  powers  that  be  as  ordained  of 
God ;  and  then  the  Prayer  for  Clergy  and 
People,  as  a  specific  invocation  of  God's 
blessing  upon  the  officers  and  members  of 
his  holy  church.  There  is  much  that  is 
instructive  suggested  by  this  prayer,  for  it 
opens  up  the  entire  subject  of  the  church 
as  a  divine  corporation,  with  its  sacred 
brotherhood  of  the  faithful  and  its  author- 


The  Morning  Prayer  67 

ized  and  appointed  officers  in  the  clergy. 
The  very  structure  of  the  prayer  impHes 
a  certain  definition  of  the  church  and  the 
ministry.  It  places  the  Apostolic  Epis- 
copate at  the  head  as  the  organic  repre- 
sentative of  the  authority  of  Chiist,  and 
it  refers  to  the  faithful  people  of  God  as 
committed  to  their  guidance  and  care.  To 
develop  fully  the  meaning  implied  and  in- 
cluded in  its  phraseology  would  require  us 
to  go  into  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  minis- 
try of  the  church. 

There  is  one  practical  thought  which  it 
forcibly  suggests, —  namely,  the  duty  of 
praying  for  the  ministers  of  Christ.  It  is 
quite  possible  for  us  to  forget  the  impor- 
tance of  this  duty,  and  it  is  much  easier 
to  criticise  them  and  find  fault  with  them 
than  to  pray  for  them.  But  we  should 
never  forget  that  the  treasure  of  the  gos- 
pel is  administered  through  human  chan- 
nels, that  the  incumbents  of  the  sacred 
office  have  all  the  weaknesses  and  infirmi- 
ties common  to  men,  that  their  conspicu- 
ous position  necessarily  magnifies  their 
defects  and  emphasizes  their  shortcom- 
ings, and  that  it  is  a  far  better  thing  for 


68  U6lure  Fifth 

us  to  invoke  God's  blessing  and  aid  in  the 
discharge  of  their  sacred  office  than  to 
weaken  their  influence  and  obstruct  their 
work  by  unfriendly  comments  upon  their 
failures  and  mistakes. 

The  next  prayer  in  order  is  the  compre- 
hensive intercession  for  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  and  it  is  followed  by  the 
General  Thanksgiving,  which,  even  in  its 
present  abbreviated  form,  is  a  very  com- 
prehensive expression  of  Christian  grati- 
tude for  all  the  blessings,  both  temporal 
and  spiritual,  which  we  enjoy. 

It  is  a  liturgical  principle  that,  in  the 
order  of  devotional  thought,  we  pass  natu- 
rally from  the  general  to  the  particular. 
The  special  prayers  and  special  thanksgiv- 
ings follow  the  general.  This  rule  finds 
at  once  its  illustration  and  its  authority 
in  the  special  prayers  of  Ash  Wednesday, 
which  by  rubrical  direction  are  "  to  be 
said  immediately  before  the  general  thanks- 
giving,"—  that  is,  immediately  after  the 
prayer  for  all  conditions  of  men ;  and  the 
rule  for  special  thanksgiving  is  defined  in 
the  Order  of  Service  for  Thanksgiving 
Day,  where  the  special  thanksgiving  is  to 


The  Morning  Prayer  G9 

be  said  after  the  general.  These  are  minor 
matters,  it  is  true,  but  they  are  not  un- 
important, since  nothing  is  unimportant 
which  is  connected  with  the  worship  of 
Ahnighty  Grod.  The  closing  prayer  of  the 
Morning  Service  bears  the  name  of  St. 
Chrysostom,  the  golden-mouthed  Bishop 
of  Constantinople,  at  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century.  It  is  the  fitting  conclusion  to  a 
service  which  has  been  common  prayer 
throughout ;  and  while  it  is  addressed  to 
Christ,  as  God,  it  also  pleads  the  promise 
which  he  has  given  to  united  prayer,  that 
if  two  or  three  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done 
for  them  of  the  Father  which  is  in 
heaven. 

To  seal  the  whole  as  a  completed  act  of 
worship,  we  conclude  with  the  minor  bene- 
diction which  is  a  devotional  invocation 
of  the  Trinity,  and  is  thus  the  correlative 
of  the  Gloria  Patri  at  the  beginning.  It 
is  an  inspired  formula  invoking  upon  us 
the  grace  of  Christ,  the  Son,  the  love  of 
God,  the  Father,  and  the  fellowship  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  it  includes  all  the  bless- 


70  Lecture  Fifth 

ings,  both  temporal  and  spiritual,  which 
our  hearts  can  desire  or  our  necessities  de- 
mand. 

To  it,  as  to  every  other  prayer,  the  peo- 
ple are  to  say.  Amen.  And  in  the  con- 
stantly recurring  response  by  which  the 
congregation  unite  with  the  prayer  of  the 
priest,  there  is  no  better  rubric  than  that 
which  Moses  gave  the  children  of  Israel 
(Deut.  27:26):  "And  let  all  the  people  say, 
Amen." 

The  use  of  the  word  indicates  our  in- 
ward assent  to  what  has  been  uttered,  and 
by  it  we  adopt  each  prayer  and  make 
it  our  own.  But  the  full  effect  of  this 
is  reached  only  when  "  all  the  people  say 
Amen,"  —  when  they  give  audible  voice  to 
the  assent  and  desire  of  their  hearts.  And 
the  response  is  as  universal  as  the  idea  of 
common  prayer.  All  the  people  are  to  say 
it.  Wherever  a  human  soul  bows  down 
in  penitence  and  prayer,  it  may  voice  its 
yearnings  and  utter  its  assent  in  the  word 
which  has  responded  to  the  prayers  of  the 
sanctuary  for  more  than  three  thousand 
years. 


LECTUEE    SIXTH 


Hccturc  i^ijctf) 


EVENING    PRAYER 


HE  order  for  daily  Evening 
Prayer  follows  closely  the 
method  of  that  for  the  Morn- 
ing Prayer  in  its  general  ar- 
rangement. The  sentences  are 
the  same.  The  general  exhortation  may 
be  omitted,  and  a  shorter  substitute,  "  Let 
us  humbly  confess  our  sins  unto  Almighty 
God,"  may  be  used  in  its  place.  The  Con- 
fession, Absolution,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
Yersicles,  and  Grioria  Patri  occupy  the 
same  relative  positions  as  in  the  Morning 
Prayer  and  for  the  same  litm-gical  reasons. 
The  Gloria  in  Excelsis  is  permitted  to.be 
used  after  the  Psalter  for  the  Day,  but  the 


74  Ledure  Sixth 

permission  is  not  availed  of  generally,  as 
it  is  properly  a  eucharistic  hymn  and  be- 
longs to  the  Office  for  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion. The  canticles  for  the  past  century 
are  the  Cantate  and  Bonum  Est  after  the 
Fii'st  Lesson,  and  the  Deus  Misereatur  and 
Benedic  Anima  Mea  after  the  Second. 
The  enrichment  of  this  service  authorized 
by  the  last  revision  consists  in  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Magnificat  and  the  Nunc  Dimit- 
tis  to  the  position  which  they  respectively 
occupied  before  the  American  Prayer- 
Book  finally  took  its  definite  form  after 
the  Revolution.  There  is  a  clear  gain  in 
the  use  of  these  gospel  hymns,  though  to 
some  minds  there  is  an  incongruity  in 
placing  upon  the  lips  of  a  worshiping 
congregation  the  special  utterances  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  A  similar  objection  might 
be  made  to  the  use  of  the  swan -like  song 
of  the  aged  Simeon ;  —  but  in  both  cases 
the  long-established  usage  of  the  English 
Church  seems  to  have  sanctioned  the  pro- 
priety of  their  use,  and  their  restoration 
has  been  heartily  welcomed  by  the  Ameri- 
can Church.  They  give  additional  variety 
to  the  service  and  materially  assist  in  mak- 


Evening  Prayer  75 

ing  the  Evening  Prayer  an  "  Even-song," 
especially  where  the  Psalter  is  chanted,  as 
it  always  should  be  in  the  evening  where 
it  is  practicable. 

The  Versicles  of  the  English  Liturgy 
have  also  been  restored,  with  verbal 
changes  to  adapt  them  to  the  changed  po- 
litical conditions  under  which  they  are 
used  in  this  country.  The  larger  element 
of  antiphonal  or  responsive  worship  thus 
introduced  is  a  real  gain  and  a  valuable 
enrichment. 

A  larger  liberty  still  is  granted  in  the 
prayers  which  follow.  The  Collect  for 
the  Day  and  the  Collect  for  Peace  occupy 
their  position  as  formerly ;  the  Prayer  for 
Aid  against  Perils  has  been  changed  to 
its  original  form,  "  Lighten  our  darkness," 
etc. ;  another  form  of  Prayer  for  Rulers, 
including  not  only  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  but  also  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  has  been  introduced ;  and  for 
the  remaining  prayers  the  officiating  min- 
ister may  select  any  he  may  choose  from 
the  other  parts  of  the  Prayer-Book,  or  may 
close  the  service  at  this  point,  omitting 
entirely  the    prayers  which  follow    and 


76  Lecture  Sixth 

which  are  common  alike  to  the  Morning 
and  Evening  Prayer. 

After  the  thii'd  collect,  provision  is  made 
for  an  anthem,  where  it  is  practicable, 
which  is  another  enrichment  of  the  Even- 
song. 

A  GREAT  variety  of  special  prayers  and 
thanksgivings  has  been  added  by  the  re- 
cent revision.  They  sufficiently  explain 
themselves.  Their  use  in  the  public  wor- 
ship of  the  church  enables  the  officiating 
minister  to  give  a  specific  direction  and 
tone  to  the  service.  This  is  particularly 
the  case  in  the  use  of  the  Prayers  for  Em- 
ber and  Rogation  Days,  for  the  increase 
of  the  ministry,  for  congress  and  meet- 
ings of  convention;  while  the  needs  of 
individuals  are  expressed  in  the  prayers  for 
the  sick,  for  persons  at  sea,  and  those  in 
affliction,  as  well  as  in  other  vicissitudes 
and  needs  of  oui'  mortal  life. 


LECTUKE    SEVENTH 


Hccttire  .^etjottj) 


THE    LITANY 


HE  Litany  is  a  connecting  link 
between  the  Morning  Prayer 
and  the  Office  for  the  Holy 
Communion.  The  word  itseK 
etymologically  means  an  ear- 
nest and  continual  supplication.  Liturgi- 
cally,  it  has  a  technical  meaning  as  ap- 
plied to  a  continued  series  of  petitions  and 
responses  which  are  said  antiphonally  by 
the  priest  and  the  people.  It  is  a  very 
ancient  mode  of  prayer;  and  a  form 
strikingly  similar  to  our  own  is  found 
in  the  Apostolic  Constitutions,  which  is 
one  of  the  oldest  Christian  documents 
extant. 


80  Lecture  Seventh 

The  ancient  use  of  litanies  was  proces- 
sional. They  were  recited  npon  the  eve 
of  great  battles,  or  in  the  midst  of  famine ; 
they  were  used  in  case  of  drought  or 
flood;  and  they  were  specifically  assigned 
to  the  Eogation  Days,  when  clergy  and 
people  united  in  solemn  procession  to  in- 
voke Grod's  blessing  upon  the  coming  crops 
of  the  spring-time  and  harvest.  They 
constituted  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
monastic  devotions,  and  many  litanies 
sprang  up,  disfigured,  indeed,  by  invoca- 
tions of  saints  and  martyrs,  but  express- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  the  deep  and  ear- 
nest yearning  of  devout  hearts,  which, 
however  mistaken  in  the  forms  of  their 
phraseology,  were  never  lacking  in  the  in- 
tensity of  an  unwearied  devotion. 

OuE  own  Litany  comes  to  us  from  the 
purest  sources  of  Christian  antiquity,  and 
shorn  of  the  excrescences  which  had  gath- 
ered upon  it  during  the  ages.  In  the 
simplicity  of  its  utterance,  the  compre- 
hensiveness and  variety  of  its  petitions, 
the  deep  and  stirring  eloquence  of  its 
expression,  and  the  perfection  of  its  com- 


The  Litany  81 

pleteness  as  an  act  of  united  prayer,  it 
stands  unrivaled  by  any  human  compo- 
sition, and  is  excelled  only  by  the  com- 
prehensiveness and  brevity  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer  itself. 

The  present  form  of  our  Litany  dates 
from  A.  D.  1544,  when  it  was  derived  by 
Archbishop  Cranmer  from  the  older  lita- 
nies which  were  then  well  known.  In  the 
Prayer-Book  of  1519  it  was  ordered  to  be 
said  only  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays; 
but  in  the  book  of  1552  it  was  printed  in 
its  present  place  and  directed  "  to  be  used 
on  Sundays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays, 
after  Morning  Prayer."  In  the  English 
Church  it  was  frequently  said  as  a  special 
service,  the  notice  for  which  was  given  by 
the  tolling  of  a  bell;  and  to  emphasize  its 
character  as  a  general  supplication  of  the 
people,  it  was  said  or  sung,  not  at  the 
prayer-desk  in  the  choir,  where  the  other 
prayers  were  said,  but  "  in  the  midst  of 
the  church."  Bishop  Cosin,  when  arch- 
deacon, made  it  one  of  the  special  inquir- 
ies of  his  visitation,  whether  the  Litany 
was  thus  properly  said ;  and  whether  there 
was  in  each  parish  church  "  a  faldstool  or 


82  tenure  Seventh 

desk,  with  some  decent  carpet  over  it,  in 
tlie  middle  alley  of  the  church,  whereat 
the  Litany  may  be  said  after  the  manner 
of  the  Injunction."  (Blunt.)  The  sym- 
bolism of  such  a  use  is  very  expressive,  as 
signifying  the  popular  character  of  the 
Litany  as  a  united  prayer  of  priest  and 
people,  and  its  impressiveness  is  greatly 
enhanced  by  such  a  rendering.  Its  recital, 
according  to  the  old  English  injunction,  is 
a  reminder  of  the  words  of  the  prophet 
Joel,  which  occur  in  the  Epistle  for  Ash- 
Wednesday,  "  Let  the  priests,  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Lord,  weep  between  the  porch 
and  the  altar :  and  let  them  say,  Spare  thy 
people,  O  Lord,  and  give  not  thine  herit- 
age to  reproach." 

Wherever  it  may  be  said,  it  is  always 
the  fitting  prelude  to  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion ;  and  although  the  Decalogue  and  its 
responses  constitute  in  themselves  a  Eu- 
charistic  Litany,  yet  it  is  stated  on  good 
liturgical  authority  that  the  Litany  should 
always  precede  the  midday  celebration, 
even  when  the  Morning  Prayer  has  been 
said  at  an  earlier  hour. 

Proceeding  now  to  the  analysis  of  the 


The  Litany  83 

Litany,  it  naturally  divides  itself  into  two 
general  parts : 

I.  The  Litany  proper,  which  extends 
from  the  opening  invocation  to  the  end  of 
the  Kyrlc  Eleison  (  "  Christ  have  mercy  " ), 
and 

II.  The  minor  Litany,  which  begins  with 
the  Lord's  Prayer  and  includes  the  remain- 
ing portion  to  il\Q  closing  collect. 

Each  of  these  general  parts  contains  a 
number  of  subdivisions ;  the  first  has  six, 
and  the  second  four  distinct  parts.  With- 
out entering  into  any  detailed  interpreta- 
tion of  these  minor  parts,  it  is  sufficient 
simply  to  point  them  out.  Their  substance 
is  so  perspicuous  that  it  interprets  itself, 
but  it  may  help  us  in  saying  it  to  know 
how  perfectly  systematic  its  composition 
and  arrangement  are,  and  how  evidently, 
as  in  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer, 
a  scientific  method  underlies  what,  to  a 
superficial  observer,  seems  to  be  but  a 
miscellaneous  collection  of  indiscriminate 
prayers  and  responses. 

The  first  subdivision  of  the  greater  Lit- 
any consists  of  the  Invocation,  in  which 
the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity  are  first 


84  Lecture  Seventh 

addressed  separately  and  then  together,  in 
a  petition  for  mercy  upon  us,  miserable 
sinners.  There  is  a  deep  and  fundamental 
truth  underlying  these  opening  words,  for 
the  mercy  of  God  to  man,  as  a  sinner, 
is  only  revealed  to  us  in  connection  with 
the  doctrinal  mystery  of  Father,  Sou,  and 
Holy  Ghost. 

The  second  division  consists  of  Depre- 
cations, which  are  petitions  against  im- 
pending evils.  They  are  introduced  by  a 
prayer  for  deliverance  from  our  offenses 
and  the  offenses  of  our  forefathers,  for  it 
is  a  law  of  nature  as  well  as  of  revelation 
that  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited 
upon  the  children  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generation.  In  the  details  of  these  depre- 
cations, mention  is  made  of  the  various 
adversities  which  may  happen  to  the  body, 
as  well  as  the  evils  which  may  assault  and 
hurt  the  soul,  and  to  each  of  these  is  added 
the  deep  and  earnest  response,  "Good 
Lord,  deliver  us."  The  specifications  are 
minute  and  particular,  including  not  only 
the  various  forms  and  phases  of  sin,  but  also 
the  providential  calamities  to  which  men 
are  exposed  and  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical 


The  Litaiij^  85 

evils  which  lead  astray  the  loyalty  of 
Christian  men,  and  their  natural  conse- 
quences, hardness  of  heart  and  contempt 
of  Grod's  word  and  commandment, —  from 
all  these,  in  the  Deprecations,  we  pray  to 
be  delivered. 

Following  these,  in  the  third  subdivis- 
ion, are  the  Obsecrations,  or  prayers  on  ac- 
count of  something,  —  petitions  by  what 
is  most  sacred  in  our  estimation  and 
thought.  The  mystery  of  the  Incarnation, 
with  its  great  events,  and  even  its  inci- 
dental circumstances,  together  with  the 
coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost, —  these  are  the 
subhme  and  awful  obsecrations  by  which 
we  give  intensity  to  our  earnest  prayer ; 
and  the  subdivision  is  concluded  by  a 
prayer  for  deliverance  in  the  great  disci- 
plines and  crises  of  our  being,  in  tribula- 
tion and  prosperity,  in  the  hour  of  death, 
and  in  the  day  of  judgment. 

The  fourth  subdivision  consists  of  Inter- 
cessions, which  are  prayers  in  behalf  of 
others.  In  these  the  church,  by  the  exer- 
cise of  her  universal  priesthood,  echoes 
the  perpetual  prayer  of  her  Grreat  Head, 
who  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 


86  Lecture  Seventh 

us.  In  this  subdivision  there  is  an  evident 
classification  also,  as  we  pray  first  for  pub- 
lic bodies  and  public  persons,  in  church 
and  state,  for  all  Grod's  people,  and  for  the 
the  unity,  peace,  and  concord  of  all  nations. 
Next,  in  this  classification,  we  pray  for 
spiritual  mercies,  and  then  for  temporal 
mercies,  and  the  subdivision  closes  with 
three  miscellaneous  intercessions,  for  the 
forgiveness  of  our  enemies,  for  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  and  for  true  repentance  and 
grace  to  live  according  to  God's  Holy 
Word. 

The  fifth  subdivision  includes  the  In- 
vocation of  the  Son  of  G-od,  closing  with 
the  Agnus  Dei  ( "  0  Lamb  of  God  " ),  and 
the  sixth  is  the  Kyrie  Eleison  ( "  Christ 
have  mercy")  of  the  Eastern  Church, 
which,  in  its  antiphonal  repetition  thrice 
over,  forms  the  solemn  close  of  the  Litany 
proper. 

II.  The  second  general  division  of  the 
Litany,  called  the  minor  Litany,  is  opened, 
according  to  liturgical  use,  by  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  For  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 
in  the  midst  of  any  service  always  marks 


The  Litany  87 

a  change  in  the  thought,  introducing  a  new 
line  of  devotion,  or  passing  to  a  different 
phase  of  worship.  And  its  use  here  justi- 
fies the  title  given  it  by  the  highest  litur- 
gical authority,  as  the  Penitential  Lord's 
Prayer.  This  peculiar  characteristic  of  it 
at  this  place  is  indicated  by  the  omission 
of  the  Doxology  at  its  close. 

The  second  subdivision  contains  suppli- 
cations in  trouble  and  adversity,  a  prayer 
in  the  form  of  a  collect,  and  the  Grloria 
Patri  as  a  petition  rather  than  an  ascrip- 
tion. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  why 
the  words  "  Let  us  pray "  are  used  twice 
in  the  minor  Litany,  when  we  are  supposed 
to  have  been  praying  all  along.  The  an- 
swer is,  that  the  words  simply  mark  a 
change  from  the  use  of  a  suffrage  to  the 
use  of  a  collect,  a  suffrage  being  a  brief 
petition  with  its  appropriate  response,  and 
the  collect  being  a  longer  and  more  formal 
prayer,  to  which,  ordinarily,  the  appropri- 
ate response  is  the  single  word  ^^Amen." 

There  is  a  third  subdivision  of  the 
minor  Litany  which  contains  supplications 
appropriate  to  thickening  calamity,  and 


88  Lecture  Seventh 

the  fourth,  which  is  introduced  by  the 
words  "  Let  us  pray,"  is  a  comprehensive 
prayer  for  rescue  and  for  faith. 

This  is  the  end  of  the  complete  office,  a 
prayer  so  comprehensive  that  it  includes 
an  enumeration  of  all  the  wants  the  hu- 
man heart  can  know,  and  yet  so  concise 
that  it  never  can  weary  those  who  use  it 
with  an  earnest  spirit  and  a  fervent  faith. 


LECTURE    EIGHTH 


€fje  Jpolp  Communion 


^tccturc  oBigJjtJ) 


THE    HOLY    COMMUNION 


N  entering  upon  the  explanation 
of  "  The  Order  for  the  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
or  Holy  Communion,"  we  must 
confine  ourselves  to  its  liturgi- 
cal aspects,  and  not  attempt  any  discussion 
of  the  mystery  itself.  That  is  no  subject 
either  for  theory  or  for  definition.  It  was 
given  to  us,  not  for  critical  analysis  nor 
even  for  reverent  speculation,  but  for  the 
trustful  acceptance  of  our  faith.  And  we 
may  always  be  sure  that  if,  in  this  highest 
act  of  worship  and  nearest  approach  to 
Christ,  we  do  this  in  remembrance  of  him, 
we  shall  certainly  receive  the  benefit  which 


92  Le^iire  Eighth 

is  promised  us,  and  undoubtedly  be  par- 
takers of  his  most  precious  body  and 
blood. 

Nor  will  it  be  possible,  in  the  limits  we 
propose  to  ourselves,  to  enter  into  the  ex- 
planation of  the  matter  of  this  liturgical 
office.  Much  of  it  is  composed  of  the 
words  of  Holy  Scripture ;  and  as  they  re- 
fer to  the  great  fundamental  verities  of 
our  faith,  their  interpretation  is  the  per- 
manent work  of  the  Christian  pulpit.  The 
Decalogue  is  the  lesson  from  the  Old  Tes- 
tament which  fixes  the  unchanging  stand- 
ard of  character  and  duty,  within  whose 
comprehensive  limits  all  ethical  instruc- 
tion is  included.  The  epistles  and  gospels, 
varjdng  throughout  the  year,  constitute 
the  liturgical  record  of  the  Incarnation, 
and  furnish  the  fitting  themes  for  sermons 
upon  the  Sundays  on  which  they  are  re- 
spectively used.  While  the  "  comfortable 
words "  are  the  echo  of  the  infinite  love, 
ever  offering  to  weary  and  penitent  souls 
the  pardon  and  peace  which  the  Gospel  re- 
veals, and  making  that  promise  real  to 
faith  in  the  sacramental  mystery  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.    And  all  Chris- 


The  Holy  Communion  93 

tian  preaching  and  teaching  are  at  once 
their  commentary  and  then*  echo. 

The  other  parts  of  the  office  are  made  up 
of  ancient  collects  and  hymns,  whose  words 
have  become  sacred  by  the  long  use  of  the 
centuries  ;  —  and  of  exhortations  and  hom- 
ilies of  more  recent  origin,  which  are  their 
own  explanation.  And  these  all  gather 
around  the  words  of  institution,  and  the 
symbolical nianual  act  accompanying  them, 
as  the  solemn  consecration,  which  precedes 
the  partaking  by  the  faithful  of  the  cup 
of  blessing  and  the  bread  of  life. 

Our  pm'pose,  therefore,  is  limited  to  an 
explanation  of  the  rationale  of  the  office, 
a  statement  of  the  harmony  and  consist- 
ency of  its  various  parts.  It  will  be  our 
object  to  ascertain  why  the  Decalogue  is 
used  at  the  commencement  of  the  office, 
and  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis  at  its  close,  in- 
stead of  a  reverse  order ;  to  observe  how 
carefully  the  church  has  provided  for  the 
due  reception  of  these  holy  mysteries ; 
and  to  mark  the  gradual  advance  in  in- 
tensity and  earnestness  from  the  humble 
petition  for  mercy  and  pardon  up  to 
the    triumphant    and    jubilant    song    of 


94  Lecture  Eighth 

the  angels  which  precedes  the  blessing  of 
peace. 

Foe  this  highest  act  of  worship  there  are 
several  distinct  and  expressive  names.  It 
is  called  "  The  Euchakist,"  to  signify  that 
this  sacrament  is  especially  one  of  thanks- 
giving for  the  redemption  of  the  world  by 
the  death  and  passion  of  our  Lord. 

It  is  often  called,  by  way  of  eminence, 
"  The  Sacrament,"  not  to  depreciate  the 
other  great  sacrament  of  our  religion,  but 
rather  to  express  the  original  meaning  of 
this  one  as  a  renewed  oath  of  fidelity  to 
the  captain  of  our  salvation,  since  the 
sacramentum  from  which  the  name  is  de- 
rived was  the  military  oath  of  the  Roman 
soldier.  And  the  secondary  meaning  of 
the  word,  in  which  the  idea  of  mystery  is 
prominent,  suggests  its  incomprehensible 
character  as  the  ordinance  of  Christ  in 
which,  by  a  penitent  faith,  we  become 
"  partakers  of  his  most  blessed  Body  and 
Blood." 

It  is  called  "  The  Loed's  Suppee,"  with 
reference,  doubtless,  to  the  Passover  Meal 
of   the  Jewish  Church,  out  of   which  it 


The  Holy  Commtmion  95 

grew,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  whose  cele- 
bration it  was  first  instituted.  And  it  is 
called  "  The  Holy  Communion,"  to  express 
the  idea  of  communion  with  Christ  and 
with  each  other  which  it  makes  possible  to 
human  hearts. 

In  the  rubric  which  precedes  the  office, 
there  are  two  disqualifications  mentioned 
for  participation  in  the  ordinance.  The 
first  is  the  case  of  open  and  notorious  evil 
livers,  which  excludes  all  who  habitually 
live  in  voluntary  sin,  whose  presence  and 
partaking  would  be  a  sacrilege.  The  sec- 
ond is  the  case  of  those  between  whom 
malice  and  hatred  exist,  and  who  are 
thereby  disqualified  until  they  are  recon- 
ciled or,  at  least,  willing  to  be  so.  In  this 
most  solemn  approach  to  Christ,  we  are 
reminded  that  if  Grod,  for  Christ's  sake, 
has  forgiven  lis,  we  also  ought  to  forgive 
one  another. 

Concerning  the  arrangement  and  vessels 
of  the  ordinance,  the  church  has  given  but 
simple  directions,  leaving  the  details  to 
the  reverent  love  and  care  of  those  who 
provide  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary. 


96  Lecture  Eighth 

It  is  required  that  the  table  at  the  com- 
munion time  be  covered  with  a  "  fair  linen 
cloth,"  and  an  instinctive  sense  of  propri- 
ety at  once  suggests  that  it  should  be  of 
tlie  finest  material  and  scrupulously  clean. 
Indeed,  for  everything  pertaining  to  Grod's 
service,  he  has  the  right  to  expect  the  best 
and  costliest  which  we  can  give ;  and,  es- 
pecially for  this  highest  ordinance,  it  is 
the  natural  prompting  of  a  reverent  heart 
to  provide  instruments  and  vessels  which 
will  comport  with  the  dignity  of  the  serv- 
ice. The  fair  linen  cloth  may  be  enriched 
with  fine  needle-work,  which  loving  hearts 
have  made  an  offering  to  his  service.  The 
paten  and  chalice  should  be  of  the  purest 
silver  or  gold,  not  cheaply  made,  but  mass- 
ive in  construction ;  in  shape,  ecclesiasti- 
cal and  distinguished  from  all  common 
and  domestic  uses ;  and  even,  if  the  means 
of  the  worshipers  justify  it,  enriched  with 
jewels  and  gems.  The  bread,  whether 
loaf  or  wafer,  should  be  made  of  the  pur- 
est wheaten  flour,  in  the  most  careful  man- 
ner ;  and  the  wine  should  be  the  most  pure 
and  genuine  which  the  ability  of  the  par- 
ish can  command. 


The  Holy  Communion  97 

While  these  details  are  not  universally- 
obligatory,  on  account  of  the  varying  cir- 
cumstances and  ability  of  men,  there  is  a 
principle  underlying  them  which  is  of  uni- 
versal obligation.  It  is  this,  that  we  should 
give  to  God  and  his  service  the  very  best 
we  have.  We  have  no  right  to  be  careful 
about  the  texture  of  our  table-linen  at 
home,  and  careless  about  that  which  is  to 
cover  the  table  of  the  Lord.  We  have  no 
right  to  adorn  our  homes  with  costly  orna- 
ments, with  silver  and  jewels,  and  then 
leave  the  house  of  Grod  to  the  bare  require- 
ments of  necessity.  We  have  no  right  to 
be  scrupulous  about  the  wines  we  place 
upon  our  own  tables,  to  be  careful  that  they 
are  costly  and  rare,  and  that  their  purity 
is  undoubted,  and  then  to  use  at  God's 
board  some  cheap  and  common  decoction 
for  his  holy  supper.  Everything  pertain- 
ing to  the  Lord's  table  should  correspond 
with  the  dignity  and  sacredness  of  the  or- 
dinance ;  even  the  vestments  of  the  priest 
and  the  reverent  demeanor  of  the  com- 
municants should  be  in  harmony  with  the 
occasion  and  the  office.  And  if  we  would 
consider  it  a  breach  of  good  manners  to 
9 


98  LeSlure  Eighth 

retire  from  the  table  of  an  earthly  friend 
the  moment  our  repast  is  finished,  and  if 
we  would  not  excuse  ourselves,  except  for 
great  and  urgent  cause,  until  all  had  fin- 
ished their  repast,  neither  should  we,  ex- 
cept for  the  most  urgent  cause,  retire  from 
the  church  until  all  have  partaken  and  the 
service  is  properly  ended  with  the  bless- 
ing of  peace. 

The  Christian  altar  is  here  called  a  table, 
a  name  which  was  introduced  into  the 
Prayer-Book  in  1552.  There  has  been 
much  unnecessary  controversy  in  regard 
to  these  names.  The  term  altar  is,  un- 
doubtedly, the  more  primitive,  and  for  the 
first  three  hundred  years  the  Lord's  table 
is  never  spoken  of  by  any  other  name. 
When  the  word  table  was  used,  liturgi- 
cally,  it  referred  to  the  slab  upon  which 
the  holy  mysteries  were  celebrated,  and  it 
was  even  deemed  necessary  to  explain  that 
by  it  was  meant  the  Christian  altar.  The 
substitution  of  the  word  table  in  the 
Prayer-Book  was  intended  "to  disabuse 
the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  erroneous 
superstitions  connected  with  the  ordinance 


The  Holy  Communion  99 

at  that  time,  and  also  to  bring  more  dis- 
tinctly into  view  the  gi'eat  truth  which 
had  been  lost  sight  of,  by  the  denial  of  the 
cup  to  the  laity,  that  in  this  ordinance 
we  are  to  feed  upon  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ."  Properly  understood,  both  of 
these  names,  altar  and  table,  are  scriptural 
and  correct,  and  they  are  the  complement 
of  each  other.  Before  the  altar  we  plead 
in  the  eucharist  the  one  great,  completed 
sacrifice  of  Christ.  St.  Paul  has  sanctioned 
the  use  of  the  name  in  I.  Cor.,  9 :  13,  "  Do 
ye  not  know  that  they  who  wait  upon  the 
altar  are  partakers  of  the  altar?"  And 
Heb.,  1.3 :  10,  "  We  have  an  altar,  whereof 
they  have  no  right  to  eat  who  serve  the  tab- 
ernacle." On  the  other  hand,  at  the  table 
of  the  Lord  we  eat  the  Christian  Passover 
and  keep  the  feast ;  we  come  as  the  family 
of  God  to  the  table  in  our  father's  house, 
and  the  name  presents  a  very  distinct  and 
important  aspect  of  the  ordinance.  The 
words  altar  and  table  are  thus  different 
names  of  the  same  thing  in  different  as- 
pects of  its  use;  both  are  correct  and 
needful  for  a  full  and  comprehensive  ex- 
pression of  all  that  the  ordinance  means. 


100  Le6lnre  Eighth 

There  is  no  order  of  celebration  pre- 
scribed in  Holy  Scripture.  The  words  of 
institution  connected  with  the  breaking  of 
the  bread  and  the  blessing  of  the  cup  con- 
stitute the  germ  of  all  the  early  litur- 
gies, and  to  this  consummation  all  that 
precedes  is  preparatory.  In  the  older  lit- 
ui'gies  the  service  divided  itself  into  two 
principal  divisions, — namely,  the  Liturgy 
of  the  Catechumens,  at  which  all  might  be 
present,  and  which  consisted  of  the  col- 
lect, epistle,  gospel,  creed,  sermon,  and 
prayer  for  the  church  militant;  and  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Faithful,  which  included 
the  remaining  portion  of  the  office.  A 
relic  of  this  division  still  exists  in  the  de- 
parture of  the  non-communicants  from 
the  church  after  the  prayer  for  the  church 
militant. 

Preparatory,  however,  even  to  this  Lit- 
urgy of  the  Catechumens,  we  have  an 
introductory  service,  consisting  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Collect  for  Purity,  the 
Ten  Commandments  and  their  responses, 
and  the  Summary  of  the  Law,  as  given  by 
om'  Lord  himself.  The  reason  of  this 
preparatory  service  is  evident  to  all  who 


The  Holy  Communion  101 

are  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  Eng- 
lish Prayer-Book.  As  the  General  Confes- 
sion and  Absolution  were  placed  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Morning  and  Evening 
Prayer  to  snpply  the  place  of  auricu- 
lar confession  and  absolution,  to  which 
the  people  had  become  habituated,  so  the 
decalogue  was  put  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Communion  Office  to  serve  the  same 
purpose  there.  And  its  use  in  that  posi- 
tion enables  us  to  try  our  lives  by  the  stand- 
ard —  not  of  a  fluctuating  pubhc  opinion, 
nor  even  by  the  current  moralities  of  the 
day,  but  by  the  inflexible  standard  of 
God's  Law. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Collect  for 
Purity,  which  precede  the  decalogue,  were 
originally  intended  to  be  the  private  devo- 
tions of  the  officiating  priest ;  but  as  the 
rubric  in  the  Morning  Prayer  directs  that 
the  Lord's  Prayer  should  be  said  by  the 
people  with  the  priest,  "wheresoever  it  oc- 
curs in  divine  service,"  it  has  become  cus- 
tomary to  do  so  here.  And  certainly  no 
key-note  could  be  more  fitting,  as  the  chil- 
dren of  God  gather  around  his  holy  board, 
than  the  united  "  Our  Father,"  which  he 


102  Lecture  Eighth 

himself  has  taught  us.  Further  than  this 
it  stands  here  as  the  model  of  all  the 
prayers  that  follow.  There  is  a  use  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  which  makes  it  the  compen- 
sation for  all  the  defects  and  inaccuracies 
of  the  prayers  which  have  preceded  it, 
and  which,  therefore,  always  concludes  an 
act  of  devotion  with  it.  This  is  quite  cus- 
tomary in  certain  forms  of  family  prayer, 
or  of  private  devotion.  But  the  church 
never  puts  the  Lord's  Prayer  at  the  end; 
it  always  stands  at  the  beginning  of  a 
service  or  of  a  division  of  a  service. 
Originally,  the  Morning  Prayer  began  with 
the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  Confession  and 
Absolution  which  precede  it  were  put  there 
afterward.  It  stands  here  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  office ;  it  marks  the  commence- 
ment of  the  minor  Litany;  it  introduces 
the  post-communion  service ;  and  in  each 
place  it  is  intended  to  be  the  model  upon 
which  all  the  subsequent  prayers  are  to  be 
made. 

The  Collect  for  Purity  expresses  what 
ought  to  be  the  yearning  of  our  hearts  as 
we  enter  upon  so  high  a  privilege,  and  it 
reminds  us  of  the  sincerity  and  earnest- 


The  Holy  Communion  103 

ness  with  which,  in  this  holy  ordinance, 
we  should  draw  near  to  God.  It  teaches 
us  to  seek,  that  even  the  thoughts  of  our 
hearts  may  be  cleansed  by  God's  Holy 
Spirit.  And  there  is  a  ninefold  repetition 
of  the  same  desire  in  the  Eesponses  to  the 
Commandments,  in  which  we  not  only  ask 
for  God's  mercy,  but  also  that  he  may  in- 
cline our  hearts  to  keep  his  law.  The 
high  spiritual  character  of  this  Eucharis- 
tic  Litany  is  emphasized  by  the  Summary 
of  the  Law,  as  given  by  our  Lord,  which 
immediately  follows,  in  which  he  declares 
the  principle  of  love  to  God  and  to  our 
neighbor  to  be  the  supreme  command  upon 
which  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets. 
If  it  were  possible  for  any  one  to  be  care- 
less or  formal  in  such  a  service  as  this,  it 
surely  is  not  the  church's  fault.  And  we 
need  seek  no  higher  standard,  need  ask  for 
no  better  help  than  the  carefully  adj  Qsted 
form  of  sound  words  by  which  she  first 
seeks  to  inspu'e  and  then  enables  us  to 
express  the  true  devotion  of  our  hearts  as 
we  draw  near  to  the  table  of  the  Lord. 


LECTUEE   NINTH 


€j)e  Ipolp  Communion 


II 


Ecctiurc  |i>mtjj 


THE    HOLY    COMMUNION 


II 


HE  collect,  epistle,  and  gospel 
constitute  the  variable  portion 
of  the  Office  for  the  Holy  Com- 
munion. In  this  respect  they 
correspond  to  the  Lessons  in 
the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer, —  that  is, 
they  change  for  every  Sunday  and  festival. 
The  general  principle  which  underlies  their 
use  is  the  commemoration  of  some  great 
fact  or  doctrine  on  every  holy  day ;  and 
by  their  arrangement  the  church  provides 
for  a  weekly  and  Saints'  Day  celebration 
of  the  Holy  Communion.  If  a  more  fre- 
quent celebration  is  desired,  it  also  is  pro- 
vided for  by  the  direction  of  the  rubric 


108  Lecture  Ninth 

that  the  collect,  epistle,  and  gospel  for  Sun- 
day shall  serve  for  every  day  thereafter 
during  the  week. 

It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  where  the 
collect,  epistle,  and  gospel  are  provided, 
there  the  mind  of  the  church  contemplates 
and  its  system  proposes  a  celebration  of 
the  Holy  Communion.  The  modern  prac- 
tice of  stopping  midway  the  service,  though 
permitted  by  the  rubric,  was  unknown  to 
the  primitive  church.  It  is,  however,  the 
memento  of  a  brave  battle  with  foes  on 
either  hand ;  and  it  has  had  the  effect  of 
putting  the  weekly  celebration  at  an  earlier 
hour,  which  is  more  in  accordance  with 
the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  early  church. 
It  also  relieves  many  earnest  and  faithful 
Christians  from  the  embarrassment  which 
the  midday  celebration  brings  when  they 
are  unable  to  remain  and  unwilling  to  de- 
part ;  while  it  attracts  to  itself  only  those 
who  are  willing  to  sacrifice  the  luxury  of 
the  morning  slumber  for  the  higher  privi- 
lege of  meeting  their  Lord  in  the  Holy 
Mystery  which  he  has  ordained. 

The  collects  are  taken  mainly  from  the 
ancient  liturgies,  and  they  have  the  flavor 


The  Holy  Communion  109 

and  tone  of  the  church's  life  in  her  best 
and  pm'est  days.  Their  structure  is  re- 
markable for  comprehensiveness  and  brev- 
ity, and  in  any  comparison  of  ancient  col- 
lects with  modern  prayers,  the  former  are 
immeasurably  superior.  This  may  be  ex- 
plained upon  the  principle  that  the  nearer 
we  get  to  the  fountain  the  purer  the  stream 
must  be.  As  the  prayers  of  the  church, 
like  her  hymns,  are  the  expression  of  her 
inner  life,  it  is  natural  that  the  epochs  of 
martyrdom  and  the  severe  conflicts  of  the 
faith  should  be  productive  of  a  richer  fra- 
grance of  devotion  than  more  peaceful 
times.  War  songs  are  never  written  in 
the  luxury  of  a  court;  battle  cries  are  un- 
known to  the  arts  of  peace ;  the  phraseol- 
ogy of  heroism  is  a  strange  language  in  the 
marts  of  commerce,  the  salons  of  fashion, 
or  the  rural  life  of  a  country.  It  is  only 
when  the  shadow  of  impending  disaster 
rests  upon  a  land  or  a  people  that  the  ex- 
pression of  its  intensest  desire  is  com- 
pressed into  words  which,  with  an  almost 
inspired  brevity,  put  a  volume  of  meaning 
into  a  single  line.  So  these  collects  come 
to  us,  not  as  the  calm  product  of  the 
10 


110  Lecture  Ninth 

scholar  in  his  study,  nor  of  the  poet  in  his 
seclusion,  nor  of  the  peaceful  Christian 
walking  to  the  House  of  Grod  in  the  undis- 
turbed company  of  his  friends ;  but  they 
are  the  deep,  intense  expression  of  yearn- 
ings, and  hopes,  and  desires  wrung  from 
the  soul  of  the  church  in  the  days  of  her 
severest  conflict,  and  which,  losing  all 
trace  of  historical  period  or  local  surround- 
ing, have  become,  like  the  Psalms  them- 
selves, the  fitting  expression  of  earnest 
hearts  throughout  the  ages  and  throughout 
the  world. 

There  are  certain  peculiarities  in  the 
structure  of  the  collects  which  deserve  a 
moment's  attention.  After  the  Invoca- 
tion there  are  usuaUy  three  parts,  before 
the  closing  phrase  which  connects  them 
with  the  Mediation  and  Intercession  of 
our  Lord.  First,  there  is  stated  either  a 
historical  fact  or  a  theological  truth  as  the 
basis  of  the  prayer.  In  the  collects  of  the 
great  festivals, — for  example,  the  Nativity, 
Easter  Day,orWliitsuntide,— the  historical 
facts  which  are  commemorated  are  made 
the  basis  of  our  appeal  to  God.  And  each 
one  contains  a  prayer  which  is  justified  by 


The  Holy  Commtmion  111 

the  particular  aspect  of  the  Incarnation 
thus  referred  to.  At  other  seasons  of  the 
Christian  year,  some  attribute  of  God, 
some  expression  of  his  love  and  mercy  to- 
ward us,  is  made  the  basis  of  our  prayer. 
But  both  correspond  in  this,  that  in  the 
formal  and  definite  approach  to  God  in 
the  Collect  for  the  Day,  we  come  to  him 
on  the  ground  of  the  assurance  either  of 
some  established  fact  or  some  revealed 
truth  which  authorizes  such  an  appeal  from 
sinful  souls  to  an  all-merciful  God. 

The  second  part  of  the  collect  is  the  Pe- 
tition itself,  which  is  usually  the  expres- 
sion of  the  desu'e  that  the  spiritual  bene- 
fit guaranteed  to  us  by  the  fact  or  doctrine 
may  be  oui's;  that  its  purifying  and  en- 
nobling effect  may  enter  into  our  souls  and 
become  a  living  force  there ;  and  that  we, 
allying  om-selves  with  the  wonderful  mys- 
teries of  the  Incarnation  and  the  divine 
truths  which  it  revealed  to  man,  may  be 
lifted  above  our  sordid  human  life  into 
that  sphere  of  the  supernatural,  where 
these  facts  and  doctrines  may  become  the 
daily  food  of  our  souls. 

The  third  division  in  the   analysis  of 


112  Lecture  Ninth 

these  brief  but  comprehensive  collects  is 
the  moral  result  to  be  obtained,  the  effect 
upon  hfe  and  conduct,  upon  our  work  here 
and  our  destiny  hereafter,  which  is  to  be 
achieved  by  the  answer  to  our  prayer.  As 
the  closing  utterance,  the  word  which  fixes 
it  to  the  promise  of  God,  there  is  the  well- 
known  phrase,  "  in  the  name,"  or,  "  for  the 
sake,"  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  his 
relation  to  the  Blessed  Trinity.  Thus,  in 
the  long  list  of  seventy  collects  provided 
for  the  Sundays  and  Holy  Days  of  the 
Christian  year,  each  one  commemorates 
some  great  fact  of  the  Incarnation ;  some 
noble  example  of  apostle  or  martyi*;  or 
some  great  truth  in  the  Christian  system ; 
and  upon  this  fact,  or  example,  or  truth 
bases  its  special  prayer  to  almighty  Grod  in 
the  service  peculiar  to  the  day. 

The  arrangement  of  epistles  and  gospels 
insures  us  that  there  shall  be  at  least  two 
appropriate  lessons  from  Holy  Scriptm^e, 
as  an  integral  part  of  the  celebration.  The 
epistle  was  formerly  called  "  The  Apostle," 
because  it  contained  the  inspired  words  of 
an  apostolic  servant  of   Christ,   but  the 


The  Holy  Communion  113 

Gospel  is  the  record  of  either  the  words  or 
the  acts  of  our  Lord.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  we  pay  peculiar  honor  to  the  reading 
of  the  Holy  Grospel,  by  standing  to  hear  it 
read,  and  by  the  ascription  "  Glory  he  to 
Thee,  0  Lord^''  when  it  is  announced. 

The  Christian  year  naturally  divides  it- 
self into  two  parts:  The  first,  extending 
from  Advent  to  Trinity,  commemorates  in 
succession  the  great  facts  of  the  Incarna- 
tion ;  the  second,  from  Trinity  to  Advent, 
presents  us  with  the  illustration  and  en- 
forcement of  duty.  The  first  half  of  the 
year  is  doctrinal,  the  second  half  is  prac- 
tical. The  arrangement  has  the  advantage 
of  bringing  out  the  entire  round  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  and  duty  in  the  course  of  the 
year,  and  of  giving  to  each  truth  in  the 
Christian  system  its  due  position.  With- 
out such  a  safeguard  both  worship  and 
instruction  are  apt  to  run  in  certain  famil- 
iar channels  and  grooves  and  to  become 
one-sided  and  partial.  But  following  the 
order  of  the  Christian  year  we  have 
brought  before  us  every  essential  fact  and 
truth,  and  the  sum  total  of  the  year's  teach- 


114  LeUiire  Ninth 

ings  is  a  well-compacted  and  finished  state- 
ment of  our  holy  religion. 

The  Creed  follows  the  Gospel,  unless  it 
has  been  said  in  the  Morning  Prayer  im- 
mediately preceding,  and  its  position  in 
relation  to  the  hearing  of  the  word  has 
already  been  explained  in  the  Morning 
Prayer.  There  is,  however,  a  peculiar  fit- 
ness in  its  use  here,  as  being  part  of  the 
Baptismal  Vow,  and  as  thus  defining,  to  a 
certain  extent,  those  who  are  to  partici- 
pate in  this  holy  privilege.  Standing  mid- 
way between  the  Scripture  and  the  Sermon, 
it  becomes  a  connecting  link  between  the 
inspired  oracle  and  the  uninspired  inter- 
pretation. And  when  we  remember  that 
the  Creed  in  its  earliest  and  simplest  form 
was  repeated  in  the  Christian  assemblies 
from  the  very  beginning;  that  it  ante- 
dates the  written  records  of  Christianity, 
by  at  least  one  generation,  and  was  famil- 
iar in  Christian  worship  before  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures  were  written ;  that 
it  has  been  repeated  ever  since,  day  by 
day,  and  week  by  week,  and  year  by  year, 
for   more  than   eighteen   centuries;    and 


The  Holy  Communion  115 

that  in  all  that  time  no  sun  has  ever  risen 
in  the  east  that  has  not  been  greeted  by  its 
utterance,  nor  set  in  the  west  that  has  not 
echoed  its  repetition,  we  may  comprehend 
the  reverent  honor  in  which  this  venerable 
symbol  is  held.  If  not  inspired  itself,  it 
at  least  finds  its  origin  so  near  the  fount- 
ain of  inspiration  that  we  regard  it  as 
little  less  than  inspired,  and  use  it  with  a 
reverence  only  less  profound  than  that 
which  we  pay  to  the  Holy  Scripture  itself. 

The  Sermon  follows  as  the  uninspired  in- 
terpretation of  what  has  preceded,  and  its 
position  implies  that  it  is  based  upon  Holy 
Scripture  and  is  in  harmony  with  the  Creed. 
This  is  intended  to  fulfill  the  prescription  of 
St.  Paul,  that  he  who  prophesies  must  do  so 
according  to  the  proportion  of  the  faith ; 
that  is,  that  all  Christian  teaching  must 
agree  alike  with  the  general  tenor  of 
Scripture,  and  the  comprehensive  utter- 
ances of  the  Creed,  and  thus  avoid  the 
danger  of  making  an  entire  system  of 
theology  out  of  a  single  set  of  texts  and 
of  ignoring  all  other  doctrine  as  unim- 
portant and  subordinate.    Such  disregard 


116  Lecture  Ninth 

of  the  analogy  of  the  faith  can  never  oc- 
cur where  the  system  of  the  church  is 
faithfully  and  loyally  followed.  For  in  it 
every  essential  truth  has  its  appropriate 
place  and  must  be  systematically  taught. 

And  we  have  here  defined  for  us  the  true 
position  of  the  Sermon  in  Christian  wor- 
ship,—  namely,  that  is  part  of  the  proper 
celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion.  It  is 
not  to  be  set  aside  for  the  impressive  and 
solemn  service  which  is  to  follow  it,  nor  is 
it  to  be  magnified  into  such  proportions 
as  to  overshadow  and  exclude  other  ele- 
ments and  acts  of  worship. 

When  the  Sermon  is  ended  a  new  feature 
of  the  Communion  Office  appears.  The 
priest  returns  to  the  holy  table  and  begins 
the  Offertoky.  The  sentences  to  be  used 
dmnng  the  collection  of  the  alms  are  of 
various  classes.  Some  are  suitable  to  giv- 
ing for  the  relief  of  the  poor ;  some  to  the 
support  of  the  ministry  of  the  Word; 
some  are  a  fitting  inspiration  to  mission- 
ary gifts,  and  others  to  the  care  of  the 
sick ;  and  as  the  proper  officers  of  the 
church  are  gathering,  throughout  the  con- 


The  Holy  Communion  117 

gregation,  the  gifts  and  offerings  of  the 
people,  these  sentences  are  either  said  or 
sung  as  the  inspiration  and  warrant  of 
this  part  of  the  service.  When  the  alms 
are  all  collected,  they  are  reverently 
brought  to  the  priest,  who  is  then  to 
humbly  present  and  place  them  upon  the 
holy  table.  There  is  a  deep  significance 
in  the  act.  It  lifts  the  whole  transaction 
above  the  level  of  a  mere  collection,  and 
makes  it  an  act  of  worship,  and  it  empha- 
sizes the  truth  that  oui*  giving  to  the 
cause  of  Christ  may  be  just  as  sacred  as 
the  duty  of  prayer.  There  is  high  author- 
ity for  the  assurance  that  "  with  such  sac- 
rifices, Grod  is  well  pleased."  And  the 
more  fully  we  understand  the  meaning  of 
this  rubric  and  the  scriptural  principle 
which  underlies  it,  the  more  certainly  will 
the  offertory  be  lifted  above  the  sordid 
idea  of  collecting  money  from  reluctant 
contributors,  into  a  sacred  and  willing  of- 
fering of  grateful  praise,  in  which  each 
one  is  to  give  as  God  hath  prospered  him, 
and  to  make  that  gift  an  acceptable  sacri- 
fice to  him.  It  is  for  this  reason,  also, 
that  the  custom  is  becoming  general  for 


118  Ledture  Ninth 

the  wliole  congregation  to  rise  at  the  pres- 
entation of  the  alms, — an  act  which  is  an 
emphatic  assertion  of  the  universal  priest- 
hood of  the  people,  and  which  enables 
each  giver  —  the  rich  man  with  his  gener- 
ous offering  and  the  poor  widow  with  her 
mite — to  take  part  in  the  service,  which 
makes  their  gifts  an  offering  unto  the 
Lord.  In  connection  with  the  alms,  the 
"  other  devotions  "  of  the  people  are  to  be 
presented  also.  This  phrase  includes  any 
offerings  which  may  be  made  at  the  time 
for  other  pious  uses,  for  the  support  and 
maintenance  of  the  church ;  for  mission- 
ary operations ;  for  the  various  depart- 
ments of  Christian  activity ;  in  short,  any 
gift  which  passes  through  the  offertory 
and  is  consecrated  to  the  work  of  Christ 
in  the  world. 

Then  the  priest  is  to  place  upon  the  holy 
table  the  bread  and  wine  required  in  the 
service  which  is  to  follow.  These  are  prop- 
erly the  oblations,  and  for  a  compliance 
with  the  rubric  a  credence  table  is  requi- 
site. In  all  well-constructed  chancels  this 
convenience  is  now  an  essential  feature  of 
its  architecture.     The  elements  are  to  be 


The  Holy  Communion  119 

placed  upon  the  holy  table  by  the  priest, 
and  this,  with  the  congregation  standing 
and  uniting  in  the  act,  is  the  key-note 
of  the  spiritually  sacrificial  character  of 
the  Holy  Eucharist  which  is  so  distinctly 
stated  in  the  Prayer  for  the  Church  Mili- 
tant and  whose  deep  significance  runs 
throughout  the  entire  service. 


LECTURE    TENTH 

€f)e  J^olp  Comnnmion 

III 


11 


%tctntc  Ccmfj 


THE    HOLY    COMMUNION 


III 


HE  prayer  for  the  whole  state 
of  Christ's  church  militant  is 
the  most  comprehensive  unin- 
spired prayer  in  the  entire  lit- 
urgy. Even  the  Litany  forms 
no  exception  to  this  statement,  unless  it 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  this  prayer  makes 
intercession  only  for  those  who  are  mem- 
bers of  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ.  In 
this  respect  it  follows  the  example  of  the 
Great  High  Priest  himself,  who,  in  the 
intercessory  prayer  which  preceded  his 
agony,  said :  "  I  pray,  not  for  the  world, 
but  for  them  which  thou  hast  given  me " 
(St.  John,  17  :  9). 


124  Lecture  Tenth 

An  intercessory  prayer  of  this  character 
has  always  had  a  place  in  the  liturgies  of 
the  Church  Catholic,  though  in  the  older 
liturgies  it  stands  nearer  to  the  prayer  of 
consecration  than  in  our  own. 

It  includes  three  principal  divisions, 
each  of  which,  again,  includes  a  variety  of 
objects  in  detail.  The  general  divisions 
are :  The  Oblation,  the  Intercession,  and 
the  Eucharistic  Commemoration  of  the 
Faithful  Dead.  The  warrant  of  our  ap- 
proach to  the  throne  of  grace  is  stated 
in  the  inspired  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  and 
with  this  we  enter  upon  what  is  the  real 
substance  of  the  prayer  itself. 

This  word  Oblation  brings  distinctly 
before  us  the  spiritually  sacrificial  charac- 
ter of  the  entire  office  for  the  Holy  Com- 
munion; and  the  House  of  Bishops,  in 
defining  the  attitude  of  priest  and  people 
during  the  celebration,  assigns  this  as  a 
reason  why,  through  the  entire  office,  ex- 
cept at  the  confession  and  the  prayer  of 
humble  access,  the  priest  should  stand. 
There  has  been  a  vast  amount  of  misun- 
derstanding and  controversy  about  this 
word,  sacrifice,  and  its  cognate  terms,  priest 


The  Holy  Communion  125 

aud  altar.  The  objection  to  them  has 
been  a  natural  protest  against  medigeval 
error  and  the  erroneous  theology  which 
attributes  a  projDitiatory  value  to  the  sacri- 
ficial offering  of  the  mass.  But  the  fee- 
blest way  to  avoid  error  is  the  very  common 
one  of  running  into  error  on  the  opposite 
extreme.  The  truer  way  of  safety  is  to 
follow  closely  the  pathway  marked  out 
in  Grod's  Word,  without  predilection  and 
without  prejudice,  and  to  accept  its  teach- 
ing whether  it  indorses  our  preconceived 
opinions  or  not.  No  error  has  ever  yet 
gained,  to  any  extent,  the  confidence  of 
men  which  has  not  had  an  element  of 
truth  in  it  to  give  it  that  power.  When  it 
is  asserted,  on  the  one  hand,  that  there  is 
a  sacrificial  aspect  of  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion, we  may  accept  the  statement  as  true 
in  the  light  of  Holy  Scripture ;  but  when  a 
propitiatory  value  is  attributed  to  it,  we 
may  well  pause  and  ask  ourselves  whether 
this  is  not  rather  the  reasoning  of  the 
schoolmen  than  the  teaching  of  God's 
Word.  On  the  other  hand,  while  we  deny 
any  propitiatory  value  in  the  offering,  we 
may  recognize  the   spiritually   sacrificial 


126  Ledture  Tenth 

character  of  the  Holy  Communion,  in  per- 
fect analogy  to  the  sacrifices  of  the  older 
dispensations,  of  which  it  is  expressly  said 
that  "the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  can 
never  take  away  sin."  But  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible for  us  to  recognize  what  is  true  in 
both  of  these  partial  theories,  and  while  giv- 
ing the  strongest  emphasis  to  the  solitary 
priesthood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
recognize  also  and  gratefully  accept  Grod's 
merciful  arrangement  by  which  the  eter- 
nal priesthood  of  Christ  has  ever  had  its 
shadow  and  its  memorial  upon  the  altars 
of  his  earthly  church. 

In  the  oblation  there  is  a  threefold 
offering :  our  alms  and  other  devotions ; 
the  oblation  of  the  bread  and  wine ;  and  our 
prayers.  Each  of  these  has  a  sacrificial 
character  attributed  to  it  in  the  Word  of 
Grod:  "To  do  good  and  to  communicate 
forget  not,  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is 
well  pleased"  (Heb.  13:16).  "Let  my 
prayers  be  set  before  thee  as  incense ;  and 
the  lifting  up  of  my  hands  as  the  evening 
sacrifice"  (Psalm  141 :  2),  and  both  of  these 
are  combined  in  the  message  of  the  angel 
to  the  Roman  Centurion :  "  Cornelius,  thy 


The  Holy  Communion  127 

prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come  up  for  a 
memorial  before  God"  (Acts,  10 :  4). 

In  the  Prayer  of  Consecration,  to  which 
the  people  give  audible  assent  by  the  re- 
sponsive Amen  at  its  close,  we  use  these 
significant  words :  "We,  thy  humble  serv- 
ants, desire  thy  fatherly  goodness  merci- 
fully to  accept  this  our  sacrifice  of  prayer 
and  thanksgiving."  St.  Paul  uses  almost 
the  same  words,  when  he  says  :  "  By  him, 
therefore,  let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise 
to  Grod  continually ;  that  is,  the  first  fruits 
of  our  lips,  giving  thanks  unto  his  name." 
And  the  great  vow  of  self -surrender  which 
we  make  not  only  echoes  the  spirit  of  the 
apostle's  teaching,  but  also  incorporates  his 
very  words:  "And  here  we  offer  and  present 
unto  thee,  0  Lord,  ourselves,  our  souls,  and 
bodies,  to  be  a  reasonable,  holy,  and  living 
sacrifice  unto  thee."  Our  alms  and  prayers, 
our  praises  and  our  self-consecration,  are 
all  spoken  of  as  a  spiritual  sacrifice  in  Holy 
Scripture,  and  these  acts  constitute  parts 
of  one  elaborate  whole  in  the  highest  ordi- 
nance known  to  the  church.  This  is  the 
true  protest  against  the  error  which  attrib- 
utes a  propitiatory  value  to  the  ordinance, 


128  Lecture  Tenth 

as  it  also  elevates  and  emphasizes  the  soli- 
tary character  of  the  one  intrinsic  and 
essential  sacrifice  offered  once  for  all  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 

It  was  this  one  and  only  sacrifice  which 
was  prefigured  by  Jewish  types,  and  every 
lamb  that  ever  was  slain  upon  Jewish 
altars  derived  its  only  significance  and 
value  from  its  relation  to  the  Lamb  of  God, 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
And  it  is  this  one  and  only  sacrifice  which  is 
commemorated  in  the  ordinance  which  our 
blessed  Lord  has  instituted  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  looks  back  upon  the  past  and 
shows  forth  the  Lord's  death  as  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  older  dispensation  looked  to- 
ward the  future  and  trusted  in  one  who 
was  to  come.  The  commemoration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  is  to  memory  what  the  Jew- 
ish sacrifices  were  to  hope,  and  each,  in  its 
proper  place,  was  a  representation  of  the 
one  great  fact  by  which  alone  a  sinner  can 
draw  near  to  God. 

The  Intercession,  in  the  prayer  for  the 
church  militant,  contains  five  different 
specifications,  which  follow  almost  literally 


The  Holy  Communion  129 

the  model  given  by  St.  Paul.  The  first  is 
for  the  general  well-being,  unity,  and  con- 
cord of  the  universal  church.  Every  word 
of  this  petition  is  significant  and  ai)propri- 
ate,  as  it  echoes  the  intercession  of  our 
Great  High  Priest,  that  all  his  people  may 
be  one, —  one  in  the  truth,  one  in  the  deep, 
fundamental  verities  of  the  faith, —  one  in 
the  personal  consecration  of  heart  and  life 
to  Christ.  And  when  we  reach  that  unity 
we  may  agree  to  differ  on  everything  else ; 
and  the  church  of  Christ  will  be  as  varied 
in  its  individual  details  as  the  leaves  and 
trees,  the  lawns  and  streams,  the  skies  and 
clouds,  but  one  in  the  unity  and  harmony 
with  which  these  varying  elements  blend 
into  a  perfect  landscape. 

The  second  specification  of  the  prayer  is 
in  behalf  of  all  Christian  rulers,  in  which 
we  invoke  Grod's  blessing  upon  them  in 
three  particulars  :  in  the  true  and  impar- 
tial administration  of  justice,  in  the  punish- 
ment of  wickedness  and  vice,  and  in  the 
maintenance  of  true  religion  and  virtue. 
The  petition  is  based  upon  the  scriptural 
principle  that  "  the  powers  that  be  are  or- 
dained of  God."   It  recognizes  the  fact  that 


130  LeSiure  Tenth 

human  government  is  a  divine  institution, 
and  the  deeper  truth  that  Grod  is  in  his- 
tory, directing  and  controlling  the  affairs 
of  men.  When  a  nation  is  needed  for  a 
special  purpose,  God  creates  that  nation, 
gives  it  its  characteristics,  its  ambition, 
and  its  government ;  and  when  it  has  com- 
pleted its  task,  or  has  proved  false  to  its 
mission,  he  wipes  it  out  of  existence  and 
creates  another  nation  to  carry  out  the 
purposes  of  his  will.  In  every  age,  whether 
Jewish  or  Christian,  it  has  been  the  cus- 
tom of  the  church  to  pray  for  the  rulers 
of  the  people.  In  the  synagogue  and  the 
temple  such  a  prayer  formed  part  of  its 
constant  liturgy,  and  the  Church  of  the 
Christian  Dispensation  has  taken  up  the 
same  petition  and  repeats  it  from  age  to 
age. 

The  third  specification  is  the  prayer  for 
bishops  and  other  ministers ;  that  they  may 
both,  by  life  and  doctrine,  set  forth  Grod's 
holy  word,  and  rightly  and  duly  admin- 
ister his  Holy  Sacraments.  There  are  two 
couplets  of  intercession  here  which  deserve 
our  notice.  The  first  and  most  suggestive 
is  that  the  church  teaches  us  to  recognize 


The  Holy  Comnmnion  131 

the  double  function  of  the  clergy  as  minis- 
ters, both  of  the  Word  and  of  the  Sacra- 
ments. The  prophetic  and  priestly  offices 
are  both  united  in  his  official  character. 
The  Christian  minister  is  not  merely  a 
preacher,  his  sermons  are  not  merely  lect- 
ures on  religious  topics :  the  pulpit  is  not 
a  platform,  nor  is  the  church  assembly  a 
lyceum ;  but  he  is  an  ambassador  for  God, 
in  Christ's  stead  beseeching  men  to  be  rec- 
onciled to  him,  and  finding  the  sum  and 
substance  of  his  teaching  in  the  sacred 
oracles  of  God. 

Nor  is  he,  upon  the  other  hand,  merely 
a  liturgical  functionary.  He  has  some- 
thing more  to  do  than  to  perform  the 
rites  and  conduct  the  ceremonies  of  the 
church.  As  a  Christian  priest  he  is  to  be 
a  steward  of  the  mysteries,  and  to  stand 
in  the  holy  place  as  the  administrator  of 
the  sacraments  which  Christ  has  ordained. 
Both  of  these  aspects  of  his  function  are 
recognized  here,  when  we  invoke  God's 
blessing  upon  the  ministry  of  the  Word 
and  the  Sacraments,  thus  putting  side  by 
side  the  two  great  means  of  grace  which 
God  has  established  in  his  church. 


132  Ledture  Tenth 

The  other  couplet  is  the  prayer  that  to 
the  spoken  word  the  minister  of  Christ 
may  add  the  emphasis  of  his  example.  It  is 
an  easy  thing  to  find  fault  with  a  minister  and 
to  criticise  him,  to  comment  upon  his  pecu- 
liarities of  style  and  manner,  or  to  condemn 
his  shortcomings.  But  it  is  far  better  to 
remember  that  the  ministers  of  Christ  are 
but  men,  with  the  infirmities  common  to 
our  nature,  and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  help 
them  by  our  prayers  rather  than  to  hinder 
them  by  our  criticism. 

The  intercession  for  the  people,  that 
they  may,  with  meek  heart  and  due  rever- 
ence, hear  and  receive  God's  Holy  Word, 
is  but  a  continuation  of  the  same  idea. 
"When  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  Thessalonians, 
he  congratulated  them  that  when  they  re- 
ceived his  apostolic  word  they  received  it, 
"not  as  the  word  of  men,  but  as  it  is  in 
truth,  the  Word  of  Grod,  which  effectually 
worketh  in  them  that  believe."  There  is  a 
prevalent  idea  in  the  popular  mind  that 
the  purpose  of  the  sermon  may  be  to  en- 
tertain and  even  to  amuse  rather  than  to 
edify  the  hearer.    Or  it  may  be  considered 


The  Holy  Commimion  133 

as  merely  a  literary  production  which  dis- 
cusses in  thoughtful  mood  the  current 
topics  of  the  day.  But  this  prayer  pre- 
sents a  very  different  conception  of  the 
work  of  Christian  preaching,  as  it  implies 
that  even  the  most  ordinary  sermon  is  a 
message  from  God,  and  that  if  we  listen 
to  it  earnestly  and  meekly,  it  will  either 
teach  us  something  we  did  not  know,  or 
remind  us  of  some  duty  which  we  have 
not  performed.  And  the  spiritual  effect 
of  a  sermon  depends  quite  as  much  upon 
the  congregation  as  upon  the  preacher. 
The  most  earnest  message  of  the  Gospel 
may  be  chilled  by  empty  pews  and  inat- 
tentive hearers ;  but  the  simplest  presenta- 
tion of  truth  is  quickened  into  life  by  the 
responsive  thrill  which  passes  from  the 
reverent  heart  of  the  hearer  to  the  trem- 
bling mortal  who  stands  in  God's  name  to 
speak  the  word  of  life  to  his  fellow-men. 

The  next  special  prayer  is  for  all  who 
are  in  distress,  and  by  it  we  are  lifted  to 
the  broad  level  of  our  common  humanity, 
to  the  philanthropic  sentiment  which  such 
a  thought  inspires,  and  to  the  tender  sym- 
pathy for  the  sorrows  of  human  hearts 
12 


134  Le6lure  Tenth 

everywhere,  which  here,  before  the  altar 
of  God  and  as  a  prelude  to  the  commemo- 
ration of  the  Saviour's  death,  remembers 
"  all  those  who,  in  this  transitory  life,  are 
in  trouble,  sorrow,  need,  sickness,  or  any 
other  adversity."  There  is  a  condensed 
and  concentrated  pathos  in  these  words 
which  it  would  require  a  volume  adequately 
to  express.  Every  anxiety  of  life,  every 
shadow  of  grief,  every  phase  of  poverty, 
every  sick-bed,  and  whatever  of  adversity 
or  woe  this  sin-stricken  world  of  ours  may 
contain,  is  here  commended  to  God's  com- 
fort and  help,  as  our  fullest  benediction 
and  his  most  blessed  boon. 

The  third  general  division  of  the  prayer 
is,  in  some  respects,  the  most  pathetic 
and  touching  of  all,  in  which,  before  the 
altar  and  in  the  immediate  presence  of  the 
memorial  of  the  Saviour's  death,  we  make 
the  thankful  commemoration  of  the  faith- 
ful dead.  It  is  natural  that  at  such  a  mo- 
ment, when  we  draw  near  to^  the  deep 
mysteries  of  our  faith,  we  should  also 
think  of  the  deep  mystery  of  the  dead  in 
Christ,  who  rest  in  him,  awaiting  their 
final  completion  in  the  Eesurrection.   If 


The  Holy  Communion  135 

we  may  not  follow  tliem  into  the  peace- 
ful rest  of  Paradise  whither  they  are  gone, 
we  may  at  least  offer  a  thanksgiving  for 
their  good  example,  in  the  consciousness 
that  we  are  drawing  nearer  to  them  as  we 
draw  nearer  to  Christ,  with  whom  they 
are.  The  friends  of  earth  who  have  passed 
on  before  us ;  saintly  characters  who  once 
walked  by  our  side  in  life  or  sat  by  us 
in  the  pew  which  is  vacant  to-day ;  loved 
names,  once  the  common  music  of  our 
home,  now  touched  and  stilled,  and  ren- 
dered sacred  forever  by  death, —  of  these 
and  their  peaceful  victory,  we  are  permitted 
to  think  at  such  a  moment,  to  remember 
their  patient  faith  and  godly  fear,  and 
then,  in  Christian  hope,  to  look  forward 
to  the  hour  when  we,  with  them,  shall  be 
partakers  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  In 
the  creed  we  profess  our  faith  in  the  com- 
munion of  saints,  in  the  brotherhood  of 
souls  which  overleaps  the  centuries  and 
spans  the  chasm  of  death,  and  in  whose 
loving  embrace  the  past,  the  present,  and 
the  future  are  one.  And  in  this  prayer 
we  make  that  faith  real  to  our  deep- 
est consciousness,  and  recognize  and  re- 


13G  Leaure  Tenth 

joice  in  the  fact  that  the  separation  which 
death  makes  is  only  temporary  and  ap- 
parent. The  faithful  followers  of  Christ 
are  one,  whether  in  the  burden  of  the 
flesh  or  in  the  rest  of  Paradise. 

"  One  family  we  dwell  in  Him, 
One  Cliurcli,  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream. 
The  narrow  stream  of  death." 

The  people  of  antiquity  looked  to  a 
future  bounded  by  the  grave.  Friends 
and  brothers  separated  at  the  gates  of 
death,  and  the  only  reunion  they  dared  to 
hope  for  was  that  kindi^ed  ashes  might 
mingle  in  one  common  urn.  But  Chris- 
tianity has  placed  man  upon  the  plains 
of  hope;  and  the  voice  which  once,  to  a 
bereaved  heart  in  Bethany,  said  "  Thy 
brother  shall  live  again"  has  sounded 
throughout  creation  and  wrested  the  scep- 
ter from  the  king  of  terrors.  And  the 
brightness  of  his  triumph  gilds  the  rest- 
ing-places of  the  departed  in  the  Lord,  il- 
luminates their  memory,  and  makes  their 
peaceful  existence  in  Paradise  real  to  our 
faith. 


The  Holy  Coinmunion  137 

The  conceit  of  purgatorial  fires  and 
prayers  for  the  dead  has  travestied  this 
truth  on  the  one  hand.  On  the  other,  un- 
belief has  taken  this  natui'al  yearning  of 
bereaved  hearts  and  trafficked  in  it,  by  the 
absurdities  of  so-called  spiritualism;  but 
notwithstanding  the  caricature,  the  scrip- 
tural truth  is  ours,  alike  for  consolation 
and  hope,  that  death  cannot  destroy  the 
link  which  binds  together  souls  that  are 
one  in  Christ.  The  church  on  earth  is 
compassed  about  with  a  great  cloud  of 
witnesses.  The  glorious  company  of  the 
apostles,  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the 
prophets,  the  noble  army  of  martyrs, —  all 
are  there.  And  names  nearer  to  us,  and 
dearer  by  their  nearness,  are  also  in  that 
blessed  company ;  and  we  can  draw  fresh 
courage  for  the  struggle  of  life,  by  remem- 
bering their  patience  and  thanking  Grod 
for  their  victory. 

The  elect  of  God  are  "knit  together  in  one 
communion  and  fellowship,  in  the  mysti- 
cal body  of  his  Son,  Christ,  our  Lord,"  and 
it  is  our  privilege  so  to  "  follow  his  blessed 
saints  in  all  virtuous  and  godly  living,  that 
we  may  come  to  those  unspeakable  joys 


138  Lecture  Tenth 

which  he  has  prepared  for  those  who  love 
him."  And,  in  this  thankful  commemora- 
tion of  the  faithful  dead,  we  look  forward 
with  every  confidence  to  the  hour  when 
"we,  with  all  those  who  have  departed  in 
the  true  faith  of  his  holy  name,  shall  have 
our  perfect  consummation  of  bliss,  both  in 
body  and  soul,  in  his  eternal  and  everlast- 
ing glory." 


LECTUKE    ELEVENTH 

€l^c  j^olp  Communion 

IV 


Hcctiirc  €lct)cnt{j 


THE    HOLY  COMMUNION 


IV 


HE  end  of  the  prayer  for  the 
whole  state  of  Christ's  church 
militant  is  the  conclusion  of  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Catechumens. 
In  all  the  older  liturgies  the 
non-communicants  retired  from  the  church 
at  this  point,  and  the  remaining  portion 
of  the  service  was  called  the  Liturgy  of 
the  Faithful,  in  which  the  communicants 
remained  for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy 
Mysteries. 

This  usage  is  still  preserved,  not  so 
much  for  the  reason  that  non-communi- 
cants are  not  permitted  to  witness  the  cele- 
bration, as  because  so  large  a  proportion 
of  modern  congregations  are  impatient  of 


142  Le^ure  Eleventh 

the  length  of  the  service,  and  find  their  in- 
terest chiefly  in  the  sermon.  They  there- 
fore retu'e,  and  then  the  Faithful  are  shut 
in  with  Christ  and,  as  of  old,  he  is  "made 
known  to  them  in  the  breaking  of  bread." 

Preceding  the  ancient  Liturgy  of  the 
Faitliful,  which  properly  begins  at  the 
"  Sursum  Corda  "  ("  lift  up  your  hearts  "), 
there  are  several  preparatory  acts  of  devo- 
tion, as  if  the  church  would  provide  her 
children  with  repeated  opportunities  of 
self-examination  and  confession  of  sin. 
Already  in  the  Morning  Prayer,  which  or- 
dinarily precedes  the  office,  there  is  a  con- 
fession and  absolution ;  but  these  are  both 
repeated  here  with  deeper  intensity  and 
more  pointed  directness ;  and  even  before 
this  our  hearts  are  stirred  up  by  the  ex- 
hortation which  begins  this  part  of  the 
office. 

This  exhortation  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  homily  on  self-examination,  and  a 
caution  against  anything  like  a  heedless 
or  irreverent  participation  in  this  holy  or- 
dinance. It  is  an  enlarged  and  repeated 
echo  of  the  words  of  St.  Paul :  "  Let  a 
man  examine  himself  and  so  let  him  eat 


The  Holy  Communion  143 

of  that  bread  and  drink  of  that  cup."  It 
is  intended  to  throw  the  responsibility  of 
preparation  upon  the  communicant  him- 
self. For,  while  the  church  is  ever  ready 
to  comfort  those  who  desire  "  to  open  their 
grief  "  to  the  minister  of  God's  Word,  "  by 
such  Grodly  counsel  and  advice  as  may 
tend  to  the  quieting  of  the  conscience  and 
the  removing  of  all  scruple  and  doubtful- 
ness," yet  she  never  prescribes  an  auricu- 
lar confession  as  a  necessity,  nor  does  she 
presume  to  decide  for  the  communicant 
the  question  of  his  own  fitness.  Nor  does 
she  require  an  examination  as  to  the  de- 
tails of  doctrinal  behef  or  technical  expe- 
rience as  a  condition  precedent  to  partak- 
ing. She  leaves  all  this  precisely  where 
God's  Word  leaves  it,  with  the  individual 
conscience  and  heart,  repeating  simply  the 
inspired  injunction  of  self-examination  and 
a  truly  penitent  heart. 

The  invitation  which  follows  prescribes, 
in  greater  detail,  the  scriptural  terms  upon 
which  the  faithful  are  to  come  to  the  par- 
ticipation of  this  holy  mystery.  They 
are:  (1)  A  true  and  earnest  repentance 
for   sin;     (2)    Love   and  charity  to  our 


144  LeSlure  Eleventh 

neighbors ;  (3)  An  intention  to  lead  a  new 
life ;  and  (4)  kxi  approach  to  the  mystery 
with  faith.  These  terms  express  with  all 
simplicity  and  clearness  the  disposition  of 
mind  and  heart  with  which  we  are  to  come 
to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  They  urge  our 
coming,  not  as  self-satisfied  religionists, 
but  as  penitent  sinners.  They  recognize 
the  brotherhood  of  which  each  member  of 
the  mystical  body  forms  a  part,  and  the 
sentiment  of  mutual  love  and  charity 
which  must  pervade  that  brotherhood. 
They  remind  us  that  it  is  not  the  achieved 
perfection  of  moral  conduct  in  the  past, 
but  the  earnest  resolution  of  fidelity  in 
the  future  that  is  to  warrant  our  coming ; 
they  insist  upon  a  living  faith,  as  the  hand 
with  which  we  are  to  reach  out  and  re- 
ceive the  heavenly  food, —  as  the  vision  of 
the  soul  by  which  we  are  to  discern,  in  the 
ordinance,  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
and  to  see  him,  evidently  set  forth,  as  cru- 
cified for  us. 

And  now,  with  this  distinct  and  com- 
prehensive statement  of  our  own  spiritual 
preparation,  we  are  called  to  a  confession 
of  our  sins,  which  is  the  deepest  and  most 


The  Holy  Communion  145 

heart-searching  in  the  entire  liturgy.  To 
appreciate  its  intensity,  we  have  only  to 
compare  it  with  the  General  Confession  in 
the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  and  we 
shall  find  that  it  expresses  a  self-abasement 
and  penitence  of  soul,  as  much  deeper 
than  that  as  the  service  in  which  we  are 
engaged  is  more  sacred.  It  acknowledges 
and  bewails  the  manifold  sins  and  wick- 
edness of  our  lives,  and  it  extends  that 
acknowledgment  to  the  thoughts  of  our 
hearts  as  well  as  to  the  words  of  our  lips 
and  the  actions  of  our  lives ;  it  recognizes 
the  justice  of  Grod's  wrath,  and  declares 
the  burden  of  our  sin  intolerable.  And 
from  the  depth  of  such  a  self-abasement 
it  utters  a  Be  Profmidis  which  has  sounded 
all  along  the  centuries,  a Kyrie  Eleison  which 
has  echoed  from  penitent  hearts  in  every 
age,  as  it  seeks  forgiveness  for  the  past 
and  grace  to  lead  a  better  life  in  time  to 
come. 

Then  the  assurance  of  that  pardon  is 
given  in  the  Ahsolution,  which  is  the  au- 
thoritative declaration  of  Grod's  forgive- 
ness to  penitent  souls.  The  form  which 
is  used  here  is  much  more  direct  and  spe- 
13 


146  Lecture  Eleventh 

cifie  than  the  larger  form  which  is  used  in 
the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer.  It  is 
suited  to  a  congregation  of  behevers  as 
the  other  is  to  a  miscellaneous  congrega- 
tion, and  it  is  intended  at  once  to  express 
and  to  convey  the  comfortable  assurance 
of  God's  forgiving  love. 

And  yet,  to  accept  that  assurance  with 
an  humble  faith  is  not  an  easy  thing.  The 
native  infidelity  of  the  human  heart  is  so 
strong,  and  we  are  so  disposed  to  measure 
the  authority  and  the  love  of  Grod  by  the 
standard  of  earthly  authority  and  human 
love,  that  it  seems  to  us  almost  incredible 
that  Grod  should  pardon  and  forgive  our 
sins.  To  meet  that  timid,  shrinking  faith, 
the  declaration  of  absolution  is  followed 
by  the  comfortable  words  in  which  there 
is  a  condensed  epitome  of  the  Gospel,  an 
assurance  that  because  we  are  sinners  we 
belong  to  the  class  which  Christ  came  to 
save ;  and  if  the  suggestion  of  an  earnest 
self-reproach  should  remind  us  that  ever 
since  we  have  heard  the  message  of  his 
love  we  have  wandered  from  him,  even 
this  need  not  drive  us  to  despair,  since  we 
have  an  advocate  with  the   Father;  and 


The  Holy  Communion  147 

the  repeated  and  manifold  declaration  of 
Ms  pardoning  love  becomes  a  sure  source 
of  comfort  and  strength  to  trembling 
hearts'  seeking  their  consolation  beneath 
the  shadow  of  the  cross. 

And  now  the  tone  of  the  service  changes 
to  one  of  triumphant  joy.  We  take  up  the 
ancient  canon  in  the  liturgy  of  the  faith- 
ful in  the  Siirsum  Corda  ("  Up  hearts  ! "), 
as  it  has  been  used  since  the  early  ages  of 
the  church.  These  versicles  are  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eucharistic  office  proper. 
We  enter  upon  the  thankful  commemora- 
tion, and  the  key-note  of  our  praise  is 
struck  in  the  Ter  Sancf/us,  in  whose  exalted 
strain  the  worship  of  the  church  on  earth 
mingles  with  the  worship  of  the  church 
in  heaven.  This  Trisagion  is  an  abbrevi- 
ated Te  Deum, —  a  condensed  Gloria  in 
Excelsis,  one  of  the  highest  strains  of 
sacred  praise  ever  set  to  uninspired  words. 

To  make  the  great  facts  of  the  Incarna- 
tion more  prominent  to  our  faith  in  the 
eucharistic  commemoration,  proper  pref- 
aces are  provided  for  the  five  great  festi- 


148  Lecture  Eleventh 

vals  of  the  Christian  year.  The  birth,  the 
resurrection  and  the  ascension  of  our 
Lord,  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  are  the  special 
themes  of  eucharistic  remembrance  upon 
their  respective  festival  days. 

In  this  angelic  hymn,  the  triumphant 
joy  of  the  Eucharist  finds  its  culminating 
point;  it  is  not  merely  the  echo  of,  but 
the  participation  in,  the  song  of  heaven, 
and  higher  than  this  no  earthly  chant  can 
lift  us. 

But  the  sigh  of  penitence  must  mingle 
with  our  most  exultant  strains,  and  from 
the  echo  of  the  song  of  the  angels  we  re- 
turn to  the  expression  of  our  deep  sense 
of  unworthiness,  in  the  prayer  of  humble 
access,  which  precedes  the  consecration. 
This  prayer  is  said  by  the  priest,  kneeling, 
in  the  name  of  all  who  shall  be  partakers 
of  the  holy  table.  It  contains  three  dis- 
tinct parts.  The  first  expresses  the  humil- 
ity of  our  conscious  unworthiness.  As  if 
there  might  be  in  our  hearts  some  linger- 
ing trace  of  self -righteousness,  we  disclaim 
any  thought  of  such  a  thing,  and  declare 


The  Holy  Communion  149 

that  so  far  from  any  trust  in  ourselves  our 
only  trust  is  in  tlie  great  and  manifold 
mercy  of  God.  There  is  an  impressive 
lesson  of  encom^agement  and  hope  in  these 
words,  for  the  greatest  hindrance  in  the 
way  of  many  sincere  Christians  is  the 
deep  sense  of  their  own  unworthiness. 
And  taking  counsel  of  their  fears  rather 
than  their  faith,  they  shrink  from  their 
privilege  at  the  table  of  the  Lord ;  while 
that  very  sense  of  unworthiness  is  the  evi- 
dence that  their  approach  is  no  rash  or 
irreverent  act.  Indeed,  anything  like  a 
sense  of  personal  worthiness  would  be  a 
disqualification  for  our  participation  in 
the  holy  feast ;  and  the  timidity  which  in 
its  conscious  unworthiness  shrinks  from 
the  awful  mystery  is  the  true  attitude  of 
mind  and  heart  which  enables  us  to  make 
these  words  in  the  prayer  of  humble  ac- 
cess our  own. 

The  second  part  of  the  prayer  expresses 
an  implicit  faith  in  the  participation  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  Christ.  And  for  this 
we  need  no  theories  and  no  definitions. 
For  a  theory  of  the  mode  of  this  great 
mystery  is  a  process  of  reasoning,  and  a 


150  tenure  Eleventh 

definition  of  it  is  an  attempt  to  philoso- 
phize, but  neither  reason  nor  philosophy 
can  explore  its  depths  or  express  its  mean- 
ing. It  must  be  accepted  simply  by  faith. 
We  need  not  ask  ourselves  the  old  question 
of  Jewish  doubt,  ^^How  can  this  man  give  us 
his  flesh  to  eat  ? "  Our  better  way  is  sim- 
ply to  rest  content  with  the  assurance  that 
if,  in  this  holy  ordinance,  we  faithfully 
obey  the  command  of  Christ,  we  shall  un- 
doubtedly receive  the  grace  it  is  intended 
to  convey.  The  participation,  on  our  part, 
will  be  responded  to  by  our  Heavenly 
Father,  on  his  part,  without  the  necessity 
of  any  explanation  to  reason  or  sense. 
And  we  may  rest  assured  that  when  we 
duly  receive  these  holy  mysteries,  God 
does  vouchsafe  to  feed  us  with  the  spirit- 
ual food  of  the  most  blessed  Body  and 
Blood  of  his  Son,  our  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ.  Less  than  this  would  not  fulfill  the 
promise  of  his  Word,  and  further  than 
this  we  need  give  ourselves  no  concern  to 
inquire. 

The  last  thought  in  the  prayer  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly important  one.  It  is  nothing 
less  than  the  participation  of  our  bodies 


The  Holy  Communion  151 

in  the  benefits  of  the  redemption  in  Christ. 
We  are  taught  in  Holy  Scripture  that  not 
only  is  the  body  to  be  glorified  in  the  res- 
urrection of  the  last  day,  but  also,  that 
even  in  the  burden  of  the  flesh  it  may  be- 
come the  temple  and  share  the  sanctifying 
influences  of  the  Holy  Grhost.  And  this 
fact  is  distinctly  recognized  here.  Further 
on  in  the  service,  we  make  the  eucharistic 
consecration  of  ourselves,  our  souls,  and 
bodies  as  a  reasonable,  holy,  and  living 
sacrifice  to  Grod;  and  in  the  yearning 
thought  of  this  prayer  there  is  a  hint,  at 
least,  of  the  great  truth  that  these  mortal 
bodies  of  ours  are  related  to  the  One  Hu- 
man Body,  which  has  passed  through  the 
grave  and  which  is  now  seated  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  The  words  of  our  Lord 
connect  the  faithful  reception  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  with  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
when  he  says:  "Whoso  eateth  my  flesh 
and  drinketh  my  blood  hath  eternal  life ; 
and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day" 
(St.  John,  6  :  54).  This  is,  undoubtedly,  the 
doctrinal  significance  of  this  part  of  the 
prayer,  and  the  service  would  be  incom- 
plete without  it.    It  brings  before  us,  at 


152  Le£iure  Eleventh 

this  solemn  moment,  the  fact  that  the  body 
shares  in  the  benefits  of  redemption,  and 
that  it  is  this  fact  which  makes  its  being 
a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  possible  in 
the  present,  or  its  resni'rection  possible  in 
the  future.  It  is  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  which  makes  the  difference  between 
the  peaceful  rest  of  the  souls  of  the  faith- 
ful dead  in  Paradise,  and  the  perfect  bless- 
edness of  the  beatific  vision,  when  the  re- 
deemed soul,  united  to  the  resurrection 
body,  shall  enter  upon  its  perfect  fruition 
in  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people 
of  God. 

By  what  mysterious  link  the  participa- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  connected 
with  the  immortality  of  the  body  we  can- 
not tell,  except  in  the  comprehensive 
thought  that  the  perfect  sacrifice  of  Christ 
touches  and  ennobles  every  phase  and  de- 
partment of  our  being,  alike  in  its  present 
experience  and  its  futm^e  destiny.  But 
this,  at  least,  is  certain,  that  this  faith  in 
immortality,  which  is  the  boon  of  our 
earthly  pilgrimage,  which  sustains  the  dy- 
ing Christian  as  he  passes  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  which 


The  Holy  Communion  153 

for  us  to-day  kindles  the  lamp  of  hope  in 
the  sepulchers  of  our  departed,  finds  at 
once  its  prophecy  and  pledge  in  that  sacred 
ordinance;  and  that  "all  those  who  are 
departed  in  the  true  faith  of  his  holy 
name  shall  have  their  perfect  consum- 
mation, both  in  body  and  soul,  in  his  eter- 
nal and  everlasting  glory." 


LECTUEE    TWELFTH 


€{)e  J^olp  Communion 


%atutc  €turiftt) 


THE    HOLY    COMMUNION 


HE  Eucliaristic  and  Memorial 
Prayer,  commonly  called  the 
Prayer  of  Consecration,  is  the 
culmination  of  the  Office  for  the 
Holy  Communion.  It  contains 
within  itself  the  germ  of  the  entire  office. 
The  sacred  words  of  institution  and  the 
symbolical  acts  which  accompany  them, 
together  with  the  command  of  our  Lord, 
"  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  Me,"  consti- 
tute the  nucleus  of  the  whole  service  and, 
indeed,  of  the  entire  liturgy.  They  are  the 
germ  of  all  Christian  worship,  as  the  bap- 
tismal formula  is  the  germ  of  the  Creed. 
And  as  from  the  words  used  at  the  appli- 
14 


158  Le£iiire  Twelfth 

cation  of  the  water  in  Holy  Baptism  the 
whole  service  of  prayer  and  gospel,  of  ex- 
hortation and  vow,  of  the  benediction  of 
the  water  and  the  thanksgiving  for  regen- 
eration naturally  grew,  so  the  words  used 
at  the  institution  of  the  Supper,  with  the 
breaking  of  the  bread  and  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  wine,  have  gathered  around 
themselves  the  elaborate  service  of  prepa- 
ration which  precedes  and  the  thanksgiv- 
ing which  follows  them.  These  are  the 
outer  vestm^e  of  the  sacred  acts  of  conse- 
cration and  partaking;  and  when  they 
are  all  complete,  we  are  lifted  again  in  the 
Post-Communion  to  the  Song  of  the  Angels 
in  the  greater  Doxology,  and  then  depart 
with  the  blessing  of  peace. 

Befoee  making  the  actual  celebration, 
however,  the  authority  for  doing  so  is  first 
recited.  It  is  the  command  of  our  blessed 
Lord,  who  "  did  institute,  and  in  his  Holy 
Grospel  command  us  to  continue,  a  perpet- 
ual memory  of  that  his  precious  death 
and  sacrifice  until  his  coming  again."  The 
terms  in  which  this  preliminary  announce- 
ment is  made  are  carefully  chosen  and 


The  Holy  Communion  159 

theologically  accurate,  and  they  are  in- 
tended to  guard  the  sacred  mystery  from 
error.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  may  be  repeated  in  its  pro- 
pitiatory character  upon  the  altars  of  his 
church.  This  preface  refers  to  it,  in  the 
exact  terms  of  Holy  Scripture,  in  its  com- 
pleteness and  perfection  as  offered  once 
for  all.  It  has  been  asserted,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  the  real  value  of  the  death  of 
Chiist  is  to  be  found  in  his  teaching  and 
example,  and  that  his  death  was  only  that 
of  a  hero  or  martyr.  This  preface  dis- 
tinctly echoes  the  teaching  of  Holy  Script- 
ure, that  it  was  a  sacrifice,  oblation,  and 
satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  There  is  a  false  conception  of 
God  which  represents  him  as  a  relentless 
tyrant  upon  the  throne  of  the  universe, 
from  whose  wrath  men  could  only  be  res- 
cued by  the  death  of  his  Son.  This  pref- 
ace breathes  a  higher  strain  and  expresses 
a  truer  conception  of  the  character  of 
God,  when  it  addresses  him  as  the  Infinite 
Father,  who,  of  his  tender  mercy,  did  give 
his  only  son  to  die  upon  the  cross  for  our 
redemption.    Every  word  is  the  memento 


IGO  tenure  Twelfth 

of  a  battle  for  the  truth.  The  solitary  and 
imrepeated  sacrifice  of  Christ,  its  atoning 
value,  its  vindication  of  law  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  Grod  are  all  distinctly  asserted 
and  hedged  about;  and  as  we  study  its 
analysis,  the  only  wonder  is  that  so  much 
meaning  could  have  been  crowded  into  so 
few  uninspired  words. 

And  then,  as  in  this  ordinance,  we  are 
to  "  shew  forth  the  Lord's  death  until  his 
coming  again " ;  this  limit,  also,  is  recog- 
nized, for  the  use  of  the  sacrament  is 
found  for  the  church  only  in  her  earthly 
pilgrimage.  And  it  will  be  needless  when 
the  glorified  Christ  shall  be  reunited  to  his 
people.  The  memento  of  an  absent  friend 
is  very  precious  when  that  friend  is  in 
distant  lands  beyond  the  sea,  but  the  por- 
trait which  we  cherished  while  he  was  gone 
loses  its  value  when  he  returns,  because 
the  loved  original  is  better  than  any  pict- 
ure. So,  in  this  sacred  ordinance,  we  show 
forth  the  death  of  Christ,  but  we  are  to  do 
so  only  until  his  coming  again.  There  is 
a  point  in  the  future  when  its  celebration 
shall  cease,  when  the  last  hour  of  time 
shall  be  numbered,  and  the  faithful  serv- 


The  Holy  Communion  161 

ants  of  Christ  shall  be  gathered  into  the 
upper  sanctuary,  and  then  and  there  this 
memorial  will  be  needless,  for  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  is  the  Lamb,  as  it  had  been 
slain,  before  which  the  multitude,  which 
no  man  can  number,  sing  the  ceaseless 
song  that  is  ever  new ;  —  and  that  is  the 
eternal  Eucharist  of  heaven. 

The  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  if 
duly  appreciated,  thus  lifts  us  to  a  point 
above  the  fleeting  years  of  time,  and  clasps 
together  in  its  embrace  the  eternal  past 
and  the  eternal  future.  It  roots  itself  in 
the  purposes  of  God,  conceived  in  the  si- 
lence of  his  bygone  eternity  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world;  and  it  antici- 
pates the  fulfillment  of  his  purposes  in  the 
distant  ages  of  an  eternity  yet  to  dawn ; 
and  between  these  two  it  makes  the  Cross 
of  Calvary  the  central  point  and  summit 
alike  of  the  economy  of  Grod  and  the  re- 
demption of  man.  All  that  is  precious  to 
memory  or  inspiring  to  hope  meets  and 
centers  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God 
aad  in  the  sacred  memorial  by  which  it  is 
perpetuated  throughout  all  ages  in  his  holy 
church. 


162  Lecture  Twelfth 

The  Service  of  Consecration  includes 
three  distinct  acts.  The  first  is  the  re- 
hearsal of  the  history  of  its  institution, 
and  it  carries  us  back  to  the  solemn  scenes 
of  that  last  Jewish  and  first  Christian  Pass- 
over in  the  upper  chamber  at  Jerusalem, 
when  in  the  night  in  which  he  was  be- 
trayed he  ordained  the  memorial  of  his 
death.  The  second  is  the  repetition  of  the 
words  of  our  Lord  and  the  reverent  imita- 
tion of  his  holy  act  in  the  breaking  of  the 
bread  and  the  blessing  of  the  wine. 

In  these  simple  but  significant  manual 
acts  there  is  no  superstition  and  no  magic, 
but  a  sincere  and  careful  following  of  the 
consecratory  act  of  our  Lord,  as  the  priest 
first  takes  the  bread,  and  then  breaks  it, 
and  then  lays  his  hand  upon  the  holy  loaf 
while  he  repeats  the  words,  "  This  is  My 
Body  which  is  given  for  you  " ;  and  after- 
ward, taking  the  cup  and  laying  his  hand 
upon  it,  he  repeats  the  words,  "  This  is  My 
Blood";  and  to  both  of  the  ceremonial 
acts  adds  the  repetition  of  the  command 
of  Christ,  "  Do  this  in  remembrance  of 
Me." 

Around  these  brief  words   and  simple 


The  Holy  Communion  163 

but  significant  acts  the  intensest  thought 
of  the  church  has  gathered  in  every  age. 
Tlie  libraries  of  the  world  are  filled  with 
the  controversies  they  have  inspired ;  with 
the  devotional  books  they  have  suggested ; 
with  the  lessons  of  gratitude  and  duty 
they  have  taught ;  with  the  volumes  of  ex- 
planation they  have  suggested;  and  the 
literature  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  has  been 
the  testimony  of  its  estimated  value  even 
though  the  profoundest  reasoning  has  ever 
failed  to  explain  the  mystery. 

That  perpetual  failure  defines  for  us  our 
true  position  and  duty.  It  is  simply  to  do 
what  Christ  commands  and  leave  the  rest 
to  him.  No  curious  questioning  concern- 
ing the  mode  of  the  mystery  can  increase 
its  benefit  to  our  souls:  it  will  prove  rather 
an  obstacle  to  our  true  partaking  of  him; 
while  the  humble  faith  that  kneels  in  un- 
questioning and  implicit  trust  before  the 
Altar  and  the  Cross  will  surely  feed  upon 
heavenly  food. 

And,  therefore,  the  celebrant  is  required 
by  the  further  words  of  the  succeeding 
prayer  to  take  precisely  this  position,  as, 
by  Christ's  command  and  acting  for  the 


164  Ledture  Twelfth 

people,  lie  proceeds  to  make  the  oblation 
of  the  consecrated  elements,  to  invoke 
upon  them  the  benediction  of  the  Holy 
Grhost,  and  then  to  offer  the  sacrifice  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  which  includes 
the  personal  consecration  of  ourselves,  our 
souls,  and  bodies  to  his  service,  and  the 
prayer  that,  by  the  participation  of  this 
Holy  Communion,  we  may  be  worthy  re- 
cipients of  his  most  blessed  Body  and 
Blood. 

To  this  entire  act  of  consecration  the 
people  are  to  say,  ^^Amen,"  thus  making  it 
their  own,  by  the  exercise  of  their  uni- 
versal priesthood,  and  giving  audible  as- 
sent and  approval  to  all  that  the  official 
celebrant  has  said  in  their  name. 

The  singing  of  a  hymn  at  this  point  of 
the  service  is  peculiar  to  the  American 
Liturgy,  the  older  custom  being  for  the 
organ  to  play  in  a  subdued  tone  during 
the  administration. 

And  now  follows  a  very  essential  part 
of  the  Eucharistic  Office  which  is  the  com- 
plement of  the  Prayer  of  Consecration.  It 
is  the  participation  by  the  faithful  of  the 


The  Holy  Communion  165 

consecrated  bread  and  wine.  In  this  con- 
nection two  things  are  to  be  observed: 
First,  that  no  Sacramental  Eucharist  is 
complete  which  is  not  administered  to  the 
people  in  both  kinds.  The  denial  of  the 
cup  to  the  laity  is  an  outrage  of  medisBval 
tyranny,  and  no  refinement  of  metaphys- 
ical reasoning  that  the  Body  necessarily 
includes  the  Blood  can  justify  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  muti- 
lated form  which  withholds  the  cup  from 
the  people.  It  is  without  warrant,  either 
in  reason  or  Holy  Scripture,  and  it  sug- 
gests a  serious  question  whether  such  a 
half -obedience  to  the  command  of  Christ 
constitutes  any  sacrament  at  all. 

It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  the  com- 
mand of  Christ  implies  that  all  who  are 
present  should  partake  of  the  consecrated 
bread  and  wine.  There  is  a  theory  which 
permits  attendance  upon  the  sacred  mys- 
teries without  partaking,  but  it  is  to  be 
seriously  doubted  whether  such  attendance 
is  a  full  compliance  with  the  dying  com- 
mand of  our  Lord. 

It  is  true  there  is  a  sacramentum  in  voto, 
a  spiritual  feeding  upon   the  Body   and 


166  Lecture  Twelfth 

Blood  without  the  actual  partaking  of  the 
consecrated  bread  and  wine.  It  is  recog- 
nized in  the  rubric,  in  the  Communion  of 
the  Sick,  and  it  is  a  consolatory  truth  to 
those  who,  by  reason  of  extremity  of  sick- 
ness or  any  other  cause,  are  unable  to 
receive  the  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and 
Blood.  But  it  is  a  provision  which  does 
not  at  all  apply  to  those  who  are  able  to 
be  present  in  the  church  and  take  their 
part  in  the  services.  To  each  and  all  the 
command  of  Christ  says,  "  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  Me,"  and  to  stop  short,  in 
our  obedience,  at  the  point  of  partaking 
would  seem  to  be  a  positive  disobedience 
to  the  command  of  the  Lord. 

The  words  of  administration  are  fitly 
and  carefully  chosen,  to  express  at  once 
the  great  objective  reality  of  the  Eucharist 
and  the  subjective  faith  by  which  it  is  to 
be  received.  Both  of  these  aspects  of  the 
mystery  must  be  recognized.  We  may 
emphasize  the  objective  reality  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  undervalue  the  spiritual  dis- 
cerning of  the  Body  and  Blood.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  spiritual  and  subjective 


The  Holy  Communion  167 

character  of  the  ordinance  may  be  dwelt 
upon  until  the  outward  and  material  con- 
secration shall  be  undervalued  or  lost  sight 
of  entirely.  Each  theory  contains  a  half 
truth  in  what  it  asserts,  but  each  by  its 
negation  destroys  the  nature  of  the  sacra- 
ment,—  the  one  by  reducing  it  to  a  magical 
and  superstitious  ceremony ;  the  other  by 
emasculating  it  of  all  objective  character 
and  quality,  and  making  it,  as  Jeremy 
Taylor  says,  "  The  untrue  memorial  of  an 
absent  Christ." 

Both  of  these  errors  are  discountenanced 
and  both  of  these  truths  are  asserted  in 
the  Words  of  Administration,  the  first 
half  of  each  sentence  expressing  the  ob- 
jective reality  of  the  sacrament,  and  the 
latter  haK  expressing  the  faith  and  grati- 
tude with  which  we  are  to  partake.  If 
there  were  any  doubt  in  regard  to  the  rec- 
ognition of  the  objective  reality  of  the 
sacrament,  it  would  be  set  at  rest  by  three 
incidental  instructions  which  occur  in  the 
rubrics  at  this  point.  If  the  consecrated 
bread  and  wine  be  spent  before  all  have 
communicated,  the  priest  is  directed  to 
consecrate  more   according  to   the   form 


168  LeSture  Twelfth 

prescribed.  The  question  naturally  arises, 
Why  consecrate  more  ?  If  consecration 
effects  nothing,  why  consecrate  at  all  if  the 
faith  of  the  recipient  alone  can  make  the 
partaking  of  bread  and  wine  a  sacramental 
communication  of  Christ  ?  When  all  have 
communicated,  the  minister  is  directed  to 
return  to  the  Lord's  table  and  "  reverently 
to  place  upon  it  what  remains  of  the  con- 
secrated elements,  covering  the  same  with 
a  fair  linen  cloth."  This  reverent  care  and 
tender  respect  can  only  signify  and  assert 
a  sacredness  in  those  consecrated  elements 
which  ordinary  bread  and  wine  do  not 
possess. 

And  when  the  service  is  over,  the  conse- 
crated elements  which  remain  are  not  to 
be  remanded  to  any  ordinary  use,  nor  to 
be  subjected  to  the  possibility  of  any 
superstitious  regard,  but  by  explicit  direc- 
tion of  the  rubric  the  minister  and  other 
communicants  are  to  reverently  consume 
the  same. 

The  church  thus  carefully  guards  and 
defends  both  the  outward  ceremonial  and 
the  spiritual  reality ;  she  asserts  both  the 
objective  and  subjective  aspects  of  the  or- 


The  Holy  Communion  169 

dinance,  and,  without  any  attempt  to  ex- 
plain or  to  theorize,  helps  us  to  obey  the 
command  of  our  Lord  and  by  so  doing  to 
obtain  the  blessing  which  he  has  promised, 
— leaving  the  mystery  to  faith  and  the  re- 
sult to  Grod. 

All  that  follows  the  administration  is 
liturgically  called  the  Post-Communion 
Service.  It  consists  of  a  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving, an  act  of  praise,  and  the  blessing 
of  peace.  It  is  introduced  by  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  which,  whether  for  prayer  or 
praise,  is  the  fitting  key-note  of  every  act 
of  worship. 

The  prayer  of  thanksgiving  recognizes 
the  blessings  which  have  been  imparted 
to  those  who  have  duly  received  the  holy 
mysteries  and  does  not  admit  of  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  their  due  re- 
ception is  the  vehicle  by  which  they  are 
conveyed  to  the  soul.  Of  course  the  due 
reception  implies  the  earnestness  and  sin- 
cerity of  our  hearts,  the  genuineness  of  our 
repentance,  and  the  implicit  confidence  of 
our  faith,  and,  upon  this  supposition,  the 
benefits  accruing  are  distinctly  and  fear- 
15 


170  Le£liire  Twelfth 

lessly  named.  And  with  this  recognition 
of  the  blessings  received  there  is  a  closing 
prayer  that  we  may  continue  in  the  holy 
fellowship  of  his  mystical  Body,  and  do  all 
such  good  works  as  he  has  prepared  for  us 
to  walk  in. 

A  better  epitome  of  sacramental  doc- 
trine has  never  been  put  in  fewer  words, 
nor  written  in  uninspired  words,  whether 
few  or  many,  and  with  this  thankful  rec- 
ognition of  the  refreshment  of  our  souls 
we  are  ready  to  go  to  the  daily  path  of  our 
pilgi'image  and  duty  again. 

But  before  we  do  so  there  is  a  touching 
memorial  of  an  incident  which  occurred, 
not  accidentally  but  by  divine  arrange- 
ment, on  the  night  of  the  Institution  of  the 
Supper.  The  evangelist  records  the  facts 
of  the  Passover,  the  words  and  symbolical 
acts  of  the  institution,  and  when  all  was 
over  and  the  agony  about  to  begin  he 
makes  the  simple  record,  "And  when  they 
had  sung  an  hymn,  they  went  to  the  Mount 
of  Olives."  The  hymn  was,  doubtless,  the 
greater  Hallel  which  was  sung  at  the  close 
of  the  Passover  Supper;  and  from  that 
day  to  this  it  has  been  the  custom  of  the 


The  Holy  Communion  171 

universal  church  to  conclude  its  solemn 
celebration  with  the  singing  of  a  hymn. 
The  Gloria  in  Excelsis  which  is  used  here 
is  one  of  the  oldest  of  Christian  hymns. 
Its  authorship  roots  itself  in  the  most 
venerable  Christian  antiquity.  It  was  the 
familiar  song  of  martyi's  and  confessors  in 
the  ages  of  fire  and  blood.  Its  mingled 
strain  of  triumphant  joy  and  penitential 
sorrow  was  never  drowned  by  aU  the 
clangor  of  early  persecutions ;  and  its 
sweet  reverberations  have  sounded  along 
the  ages  until  they  have  found  theii*  fitting 
resting-place  near  to  the  liturgical  shrine 
of  our  holy  faith. 

For  generations  and  centuries  it  has 
been  exclusively  a  eucharistic  hymn,  and 
while  the  rubric  permits  the  alternate  use 
of  a  selection  in  its  stead,  yet  that  permis- 
sion is  intelligently  used  only  during  the 
celebrations  of  Lent  and  Holy  Week,  when 
by  long  custom  the  tones  of  the  Gloria  in 
Excelsis  are  silent  for  the  time  being,  that 
they  may  burst  forth  in  richer  harmony 
amid  the  rejoicings  of  Easter  Day. 

The  entire  service  concludes  with  the 


172  Le£lure  Twelfth 

Invocation  of  the  Peace  of  God  and  the 
Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  and  it 
expresses  at  once  the  desire  and  the  pledge 
that  that  peace  shall  keep  both  our  hearts 
and  minds  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
God.  It  is  an  echo  of  the  words  of  Christ 
himself,  when  he  said,  "  My  peace  I  leave 
with  you,"  and  however  the  surface  of  our 
lives  may  be  rent  and  broken  by  the 
storms  of  trial  and  conflict,  in  the  deep 
recesses  of  the  Christian  soul  that  peace 
dwells  for  evermore. 

It  is  the  fitting  conclusion  of  a  service 
whose  object  is  to  bring  us  near  to  the 
cross  that  we  may  find  that  peace ;  which 
has  been  the  consolation  of  unnumbered 
faithful  now  in  the  Paradise  of  God; 
which  is  the  highest  boon  to  earthly  pil- 
grims as  they  tread  life's  weary  pathway ; 
and  which  shall  be  the  consolation  of  gen- 
erations yet  unborn,  even  until  the  end 
shall  come. 


LECTURE     THIRTEENTH 


Hccturc  €!)irtcciitl) 


HOLY    BAPTISM 


HE  occasional  offices  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  il- 
lustrate with  peculiar  distinct- 
ness the  care  which  the  church 
has  taken  to  provide  for  every 
want  of  our  spiritual  nature  and  every 
contingency  of  our  mortal  life.  Their  ar- 
rangement implies  that  the  ordinances  of 
the  Christian  church  are  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  duties  of  the  Christian 
home,  and  that  the  sanctions  and  conso- 
lations of  religion  are  blended  with  the 
great  events  and  crises  of  human  life, — 
with  birth  and  holy  baptism,  with  confir- 
mation and  marriage;   with  the  time  of 


176  Le6lure  Thirteenth 

sickness  and  the  hour  of  death, —  and  that 
the  church  and  the  home  are  linked  to- 
gether by  the  daily  sacrifice  of  praise  and 
prayer  at  the  family  altar. 

Taking  these  up  in  the  order  of  the 
Prayer-Book,  which  is  also  the  usual  order 
of  life,  we  are  to  study  first  the  Office  for 
the  Administration  of  Holy  Baptism.  It 
does  not  fall  within  the  limits  of  our  pur- 
pose to  discuss  the  doctrinal  bearings  of 
the  office.  We  shall  confine  ourselves 
rather  to  its  liturgical  aspects,  with  espe- 
cial reference  to  its  connection  with  the 
life  of  the  family  and  the  responsibility  of 
parents  and  sponsors  connected  with  it. 

The  position  of  the  office  in  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  indicates  its  importance. 
It  stands  first  among  the  occasional  offices, 
as  it  is  the  first  to  meet  us  at  the  threshold 
of  life.  When  Grod,  in  his  providence, 
sends  a  new  life  into  a  Christian  home, 
and  a  tender  infant  comes  out  of  the  great 
unknown  to  the  embrace  of  parental  arms, 
the  first  concern  of  an  earnest  faith  will 
be  to  consecrate  that  new  life  to  Grod,  and, 
in  the  sacred  ordinance  which  Christ  has 


Holy  Baptism  111 

established,  to  recognize  the  fact  that  it 
belongs  to  him.  And  the  almost  universal 
care  of  Christian  parents  to  bring  their 
children  to  holy  baptism  is  the  expression 
of  a  concern  for  their  souls  which  the 
most  common  suggestions  of  parental  in- 
stinct demand  for  tlieu'  bodies.  The  physi- 
cal life  of  a  child  is  guarded,  and  watched, 
and  nurtured  with  the  unceasing  care  of 
scientific  skill  and  domestic  tenderness. 
Its  food,  its  clothing,  the  atmosphere 
which  it  breathes,  and  its  protection  from 
every  harm  demand  and  receive  the  most 
assiduous  and  unwearied  attention. 

And  the  office  and  the  fact  of  holy  bap- 
tism suggest  the  complementary  truth 
that  the  soul  of  a  little  child,  as  well  as 
its  body,  must  be  the  object  of  unweary- 
ing watchfulness  and  care ;  that  it  "  must 
be  born  again,  of  Water  and  of  the  Spirit," 
and  that  after  this  second  birth  there  is 
needed  for  the  soul — as  after  the  natural 
birth  there  is  needed  for  the  body  —  the 
most  constant  and  careful  nurture,  that  it 
may  grow  up  into  a  healthy  and  mature 
Christian  life. 

The   Office   of  Holy  Baptism  thus  be- 


178  tenure  Thirteenth 

comes  a  connecting  link  between  the 
Christian  church  and  the  Christian  home, 
a  perpetual  reminder  of  the  obligation  and 
claim  which  Almighty  Grod  lays  upon 
every  human  life  for  his  love  and  service, 
and  a  constant  inspiration  to  faithful  duty 
in  training  up  the  children  of  our  house- 
holds in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord. 

The  authority  for  Christian  baptism  is 
distinctly  stated  in  the  great  commission 
of  oui'  Lord  to  his  apostles :  "  Go  ye  there- 
fore and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Grhost."  Its  scope  and 
comprehensiveness  are  suggested  by  the 
rite  of  circumcision  which  preceded  it  as 
the  ceremony  of  initiation  into  the  Jewish 
Church.  And  as  the  children  of  the  Jew- 
ish household  were  always  included  in  the 
covenant  of  mercy  and  were  entitled  to 
its  seal  in  the  appointed  rite  of  circum- 
cision, so  the  childi-en  of  Christian  house- 
holds are  included  in  the  covenant  of  the 
Gospel  and  are  entitled  to  its  seal  in  the 
sacrament  of  Holy  Baptism. 

It  is  needless  to  enter  into  any  detailed 


Holy  Baptism  179 

account  of  the  various  ceremonies  which 
from  time  to  time  have  been  connected 
with  its  administration.  They  are  not  of 
the  essence  of  the  ordinance.  And  it  will 
be  sufficient  for  us  simply  to  follow  the 
order  of  our  own  service  and  the  require- 
ments of  the  rubric,  which  carefully  guard 
against  all  irreverence  and  impropriety  in 
its  administration,  and  which  at  the  same 
time  surround  it  with  the  calm  and  digni- 
fied beauty  which  is  inherent  in  all  the 
offices  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

The  rubrical  requirements  which  pre- 
cede the  office  are  simple  and  appropriate. 
The  first  defines  the  proper  occasions  on 
which  the  ordinance  may  be  administered, 
and  is  intended  to  apply,  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, the  ancient  rule  to  the  necessities  of 
modern  life.  In  the  primitive  church  the 
stated  times  for  baptism  were  Easter  and 
"Whitsuntide  ;  the  preparation  of  the  cate- 
chumens taking  place  throughout  the  year, 
and  culminating  in  the  spiritual  harvest 
which  was  gathered  at  these  great  festivals. 
In  our  own  day,  however,  it  may  be  ad- 
ministered on  any  Sunday  or  holy  day,  or 
on  any  other  prayer  day,  so  that  it  be 


180  Lecture  Thirteenth 

done  publicly  in  the  churcli,  as  an  open 
transaction  in  admitting  a  candidate  to 
the  covenant  of  Grod's  mercy  and  to  the 
fellowship  of  the  congregation  of  Christ's 
flock. 

The  second  rubric  makes  provision  for 
sponsors,  the  object  of  which  is  to  insure 
the  subsequent  education  and  training  in 
Christian  truth  and  duty  which  is  neces- 
sary to  the  full  benefit  of  the  grace  con- 
ferred in  this  holy  sacrament.  Formerly, 
parents  were  not  admitted  as  sponsors, 
since  they  are  sponsors  in  fact  and  by  nat- 
ure, and  therefore  no  vow  can  increase 
their  obligation  of  duty  to  the  child.  But 
while  the  church  prefers  that  there  should 
be  three  sponsors  for  every  child,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  parents,  in  order  to  insure  by 
a  fivefold  promise  the  future  guardian- 
ship of  the  infant  soul,  she  yet  permits 
parents  to  stand  as  sponsors  in  order  to 
accommodate  every  variety  of  circum- 
stance and  need,  and  to  save  the  office  of 
sponsor  from  ever  being  merely  a  formal 
or  perfunctory  thing.  And  this  require- 
ment will  remind  us  of  the  real  and  ob- 
ligatory character  of  such  a  proxy.    Its 


Holy  Baptism  181 

importance  and  solemnity  are  not  generally 
appreciated  at  their  true  worth.  It  seems 
to  be  thought,  at  times,  that  sponsors  are 
needful  only  to  complete  the  tableau  of 
the  font,  as  bridesmaids  are  in  the  mar- 
riage ceremony,  and  that  their  duty  is  as 
quickly  performed.  And  thoughtless  and 
worldly  persons  are  at  times  permitted 
to  assume  responsibilities  and  take  vows 
for  the  infant  candidate,  which  they  have 
never  sincerely  sought  to  meet  and  per- 
form for  themselves.  And  we  cannot  too 
clearly  recognize  nor  too  constantly  prac- 
tice the  higher  idea  of  the  chui'ch,  that 
sponsors  should  themselves  be  earnest 
Christian  men  and  women,  who  will  add 
the  force  of  theii*  example  to  their  theo- 
retical and  doctrinal  instruction ;  and  who 
will  not  consider  their  duty  performed  to 
their  god-children  until  they  have  brought 
them  to  the  rite  of  confii-mation  where 
they  may  take  their  vows  upon  themselves. 
The  third  rubric  defines  the  point  in  the 
service  and  the  place  in  the  church  at 
which  the  ordinance  is  to  be  administered ; 
namely,  "  after  the  second  lesson,"  and  "  at 
the  font."  A  literal  adhesion  to  the  ad- 
16 


182  Lecture  Thirteenth 

ministration  after  the  Second  Lesson  is 
required  only  as  a  general  rule ;  there  may 
be  exceptions  to  this,  provided  the  bap- 
tism take  place  in  the  church.  Its  ad- 
ministration in  private  houses  is  permitted 
only  in  cases  of  sickness,  or  for  some 
other  great  and  reasonable  excuse.  The 
rite  of  circumcision  was  always  performed 
in  the  temple  :  the  Infant  Saviour  himself 
was  taken  there  upon  the  eighth  day  for 
that  purpose;  and  his  fulfillment  of  all 
righteousness,  in  this  respect,  has  fij^ed 
forever  the  standard  of  what  is  proper 
and  dutiful  for  the  Christian  child. 

And  now,  preceding  the  entire  service, 
there  stands  a  question  upon  its  very 
threshold  whose  deep  significance  we  are 
apt  to  forget, — "Hath  this  child  been  al- 
ready baptized,  or  no  ? "  For  although 
the  officiating  minister  may  be  himself 
wen  assured  of  the  fact,  yet  this  public 
and  formal  statement  of  it  is  placed  here 
as  the  church's  protest  against  the  repe- 
tition of  this  holy  ordinance.  As  there  is 
one  Lord  and  one  faith,  so  there  is  one 
baptism ;  and  the  implied  meaning  of  the 
church  is  the  echo  of  the  Nicene  Creed, 


Holy  Baptism  183 

which  is  itself  the  echo  of  Holy  Scripture, 
when  it  says,  "I  acknowledge  One  Bap- 
tism for  the  remission  of  Sins."  And  as 
the  formal  and  public  statement  of  this 
truth  and  the  verification  of  this  require- 
ment, it  must  always  be  asked  by  the  of- 
ficiating minister,  whether  he  is  privately 
aware  of  the  answer  or  not. 

The  general  analysis  of  the  entire  office 
corresponds  precisely  with  the  threefold 
service  of  the  early  church.  The  first,  or 
introductory,  part  corresponds  with  the 
order  for  the  admission  of  catechumens ; 
the  second  is  the  baptismal  vow  and  its 
suffrages;  the  third  is  the  baptism  itself, 
preceded  by  the  benediction  of  the  water, 
and  followed  by  the  signing  of  the  cross ; 
and  the  whole  service  is  concluded  with  the 
post-baptismal  thanksgiving,  with  the  ex- 
hortation and  admonition  to  the  sponsors. 


LECTUEE    FOUKTEENTH 


Hectute  f  outtccntl^ 


HOLY    BAPTISM  — (Continued) 


HE  first  general  division  begins 
with  an  exhortation,  which 
states  the  necessity  and  author- 
ity of  the  divine  ordinance 
about  to  be  celebrated;  and 
which  is  also  an  invitation  to  prayer  on 
behalf  of  the  candidates  presented,  that 
the  benediction  of  the  heavenly  washing 
may  accompany  the  ordinance  of  the 
chm'ch.  In  compliance  with  this  exhorta- 
tion, two  forms  of  prayer  are  provided, 
either  of  which  may  be  said  by  the  min- 
ister. The  first  is  the  one  generally  used, 
as  being  more  appropriate  to  the  baptism 
of  infants. 


188  Lecture  Fourteenth 

Following  this  immediately  is  the  Holy 
Gospel  (taken  from  St.  Mark,  13 :  10),  which 
declares  the  good-will  of  Christ  to  little 
children;  the  tender  care  with  which  he 
took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands 
upon  them,  and  blessed  them,  and  his  dis- 
pleasure with  those  who  would  forbid 
them  to  come.  And  although  the  children 
spoken  of  in  this  gospel  were  not  brought 
to  our  Lord  for  holy  baptism,  yet  the 
propriety  of  its  use  in  this  connection  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  it  declares  the  mind 
of  Christ  toward  little  children,  and  his 
desire  that  they  be  brought  unto  him.  And 
there  is  no  surer  way  in  which  they  may 
be  brought  to  Christ  than  in  this  holy  or- 
dinance which  he  has  established  for  this 
purpose. 

A  brief  homily  follows  the  reading  of 
the  gospel,  whose  object  is  to  emphasize 
and  apply  the  teaching  of  the  words  of 
our  Lord ;  and,  upon  the  application  of  its 
divine  promise  to  the  candidate  present, 
both  the  minister  and  people  unite  in  a 
thanksgiving  for  the  grace  and  knowledge 
vouchsafed  to  us  in  Christ  and  a  prayer 
that  the  fullness  of  this  blessing  may  de- 


Holy  Baptism  189 

scend  upon  the  child  now  presented.  This 
much  of  the  service  is  introductory  and 
corresponds  with  the  ancient  ceremony 
for  the  admission  of  a  catechumen,  and 
the  instructions  and  prayers  are  alike  pre- 
paratory to  the  subsequent  portions  of  the 
office. 

The  second  part  of  the  service  is  The 
Baptismal  Vow,  which  is  vicariously  made 
by  the  sponsors  in  behalf  of  the  child.  It 
is  introduced  by  a  brief  exhortation  which 
asserts  the  strong  confidence  we  may  have 
in  the  promise  of  Grod,  and  which,  upon 
the  basis  of  that  confidence,  ui^ges  an 
equal  fidelity  on  the  part  of  those  who 
represent  the  child.  The  covenant  nature 
of  the  transaction  is  thus  distinctly  recog- 
nized. The  two  parties  to  the  sacred  com- 
pact are  Grod  and  a  little  child.  Each  of 
these  appears  by  a  representative,  the  min- 
ister as  the  ambassador  of  Christ  repre- 
senting his  divine  master,  and  the  spon- 
sors, in  their  voluntary  action,  representing 
the  little  child.  And  the  representative 
character  of  both  parties  in  the  transac- 
tion, with  the  remembrance  of  its  covenant 


190  Lecture  Fourteenth 

character,  woiild  dispel  many  a  doubt  and 
misapprehension  concerning  this  sacred 
rite.  It  has  often  been  assailed,  upon  the 
one  hand,  as  if  children  had  no  place  in 
the  covenant  of  God's  mercy  to  men — an 
error  which  is  repugnant  to  every  idea  of 
redemption  which  the  Scriptui*es  authorize, 
and  to  the  practice  of  every  dispensation 
of  grace  by  which  that  redemption  has 
been  made  known  to  men. 

And  it  has  been  assailed,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  if  it  were  a  magical  performance, 
in  which  the  sprinkling  or  pouring  of  some 
drops  of  water  upon  an  infant's  face,  in 
connection  with  the  Triune  Name,  were  to 
effect  a  supernatural  change  in  the  soul. 
But  both  of  these  ideas  are  defective,  be- 
cause they  do  not  take  into  account  all 
the  elements  in  the  case.  This  last  one, 
especially,  ignores  the  underlying  fact 
that  the  regeneration  of  the  child  does 
not  depend  upon  the  virtue  of  the  conse- 
crated water,  but  upon  the  promise  of  Al- 
mighty Grod.  And  it  ignores,  also,  the 
prayers  in  answer  to  which  that  promise 
is  fulfilled ;  and  the  vows  by  which  its  ful- 
fillment is  claimed ;  and  the  blessed  words 


Holy  Baptism  191 

of  Christ,  that  the  Father  iu  heaven  is 
more  ready  to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
them  that  ask  him  than  earthly  parents 
are  to  give  good  gifts  to  their  children. 

The  Baptismal  Vow  represents  man's 
part  and  duty  in  this  covenant  of  grace. 
It  includes,  as  the  catechism  carefully 
teaches,  three  particulars:  The  Vow  of 
Renunciation,  of  Faith,  and  of  Obedience. 
The  renunciation  was  anciently  made  fac- 
ing the  west,  and  the  other  two  facing 
the  east,  to  correspond  with  the  conven- 
tional ideas  of  the  origin  of  evil  and  of 
good  prevalent  at  the  time.  The  Vow  of 
Renunciation  includes  the  threefold  form 
of  evil,  which,  as  Christians,  we  are  to  re- 
sist and  overcome, — namely,  the  world, with 
its  vain  pomp  and  glory ;  the  flesh,  with 
its  sinful  desires;  and  the  devil  and  all 
his  works.  And  it  is  the  distinct  and  per- 
sonal repudiation  of  these  as  dominant 
and  controlling  forces  in  our  lives.  Turn- 
ing from  the  negative  to  the  positive,  we 
have  next  the  Vow  of  Faith,  which  is  the 
promise  of  belief,  not  in  any  doctrinal 
system,  nor  in  any  theory  of  the  Atone- 


192  Le6lure  Fourteenth 

ment,  but  in  the  great  fundamental  and 
essential  articles  of  the  Christian  faith,  as 
contained  in  its  most  venerable  symbol, 
the  Apostles'  Creed. 

The  Vow  of  Obedience  is  equally  com- 
prehensive. Its  law  of  duty  is  simply 
God's  holy  will  and  commandments,  as  in- 
terpreted ])y  an  enlightened  conscience 
and  the  teachings  of  his  holy  church.  It 
does  not  attempt  the  impossible  effort  of 
constructing  a  system  of  casuistry  for 
every  man's  life.  Nor  does  it  prescribe  what 
particulars  of  conduct  each  one  must  fol- 
low. It  does  not  enter  into  the  details  of 
moral  duty,  but  gives  us  as  the  law  of  our 
action  only  what  the  Holy  Scriptm-es  sanc- 
tion, and  the  principles  which  the  Gospel 
reveals,  leaving  the  application  of  those 
principles  to  the  ever-varying  exigencies 
of  life,  precisely  where  the  Scriptures  leave 
them,  to  the  intelligent  conscience  and  the 
earnest  heart. 

The  moral  law  of  the  Gospel  is  the  sim- 
plest utterance  of  Christ,  and  yet  it  points 
out  the  way  of  duty  in  every  possible  con- 
tingency of  life.  To  love  God  with  all  our 
heart,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and  our  neigh- 


Holy  Baptism  193 

bor  as  oui'selves  —  these  are  the  two  uni- 
versal principles  of  duty  upon  which  the 
law  and  the  prophets  hang,  and  within 
them  all  systems  of  morality  and  all  codes 
of  moral  action  are  included.  To  apply 
them  daily  and  hourly  to  the  circumstances 
and  demands  of  om-  mortal  life  is  the  un- 
ceasing duty  of  the  Christian  in  the  war- 
fare  and  pilgrimage  of  this  mortal  life. 

These  three  things,  therefore, — the  re- 
nunciation of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil;  the  behef  in  the  articles  of  the 
Christian  faith ;  and  the  promise  to  obey 
Grod's  holy  will  and  commandments  and  to 
walk  in  the  same  all  the  days  of  our  life, — 
constitute  the  human  side  of  this  sacred 
compact,  as  the  promise  of  salvation  and 
eternal  life  constitute  the  divine  side. 

That  it  is  solemnly  entered  into  by  rep- 
resentatives of  both  parties  is  only  anal- 
agous  to  what  is  constantly  taking  place 
in  behalf  of  children  in  every  other  de- 
partment of  their  being.  The  selection  of 
the  schools  which  they  shall  attend;  the 
matter  of  their  food  and  clothing;  the 
companions  with  whom  they  may  associ- 
ciate;  and  the  management  of  their  in- 
17 


194  Lecture  Fourteenth 

herited  estates,  all  lie  within  the  decision 
of  those  to  whose  care  they  are  committed, 
either  as  parents  or  guardians;  and  if,  in 
every  phase  of  secular,  and  physical,  and 
social  life,  the  infant  will  lies  within  the 
sphere  of  the  parental  will;  and  if,  in  the 
case  of  orphans,  the  act  of  the  guardian 
is  legally  the  act  of  the  child,  it  would  be 
a  monstrous  exception  if  the  same  repre- 
sentative action  were  impossible  in  the 
concerns  of  its  eternal  destiny,  and  in  the 
vastly  more  important  concern  of  the  nur- 
ture and  care  of  its  soul. 

And  now,  as  if  to  consecrate  this  solemn 
compact  before  it  is  finally  sealed,  there 
are  specific  prayers  that  this  present  child 
and  all  who  are  dedicated  to  God  by  the 
office  and  ministry  of  his  earthly  priest- 
hood may  become  the  children  of  the  sec- 
ond Adam  and  members  of  that  new  and 
redeemed  race  which  he  has  purchased 
with  his  precious  blood. 

The  longer  prayer  which  follows  these 
suffrages  is  taken  from  the  ancient  serv- 
ice for  the  benedictioD  of  the  waters,  which 
was  used  once  a  month ;  and  its  insertion 
here  complies  with  the  requirement  of  the 


Holy  Baptism  195 

rubric  that  at  each  Administration  of  Holy 
Baptism  the  font  shall  be  filled  with  pure 
water. 

And  now,  after  all  this  careful  and  elab- 
orate preparation,  the  sacramental  seal  is 
to  be  attached  to  the  covenant,  that  its 
mutual  stipulations  and  promises  may  at 
once  become  effective.  The  minister,  in 
Christ's  name  and  following  the  signifi- 
cant action  of  his  master,  takes  the  little 
one  in  his  arms,  and,  with  the  application 
of  the  consecrated  water,  breathes  over 
its  unconscious  head  the  mysterious  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Grhost.  That  is  all  that  is  essential, 
because  it  is  all  that  Christ  has  com- 
manded. 

The  ceremony  of  signing  with  the  cross 
and  of  reception  into  the  congregation  is 
not  a  part  of  the  baptismal  act ;  but  it  is 
a  beautiful  and  significant  recognition  of 
the  reality  of  the  transaction  which  has 
just  taken  place.  As  the  candidate  has 
been  consecrated  to  the  service  of  Christ 
and  admitted  to  his  sacred  fold,  it  is  fitting 
that  his  mark  should  be  placed  upon  him ; 


196  Ledure  Fourteenth 

and,  as  by  baptism  he  becomes  a  member 
of  the  mystical  Body,  which  is  his  church, 
it  is  appropriate  that  upon  his  entrance 
he  should  be  formally  received  into  the 
congregation  of  the  faithful.  And  this 
is  done  with  the  earnest  prayer  that  he 
may  never  be  ashamed  to  confess  the  faith 
of  Christ  crucified,  but  "continue  his 
faithful  soldier  and  servant  unto  his  life's 
end." 

The  Post-Baptismal  Service  recognizes 
still  further  the  profound  reality  of  this 
sacred  covenant,  and  gives  thanks  to  Al- 
mighty God  for  these  great  benefits,  with 
an  earnest  prayer  that  the  young  Christian 
just  born  into  the  kingdom  of  God  may 
prove  to  be  his  faithful  servant  here,  and 
an  inheritor  of  his  everlasting  kingdom 
hereafter. 

And  that  no  human  instrumentality  and 
care  may  be  wanting  to  accomplish  this 
result,  it  concludes  with  an  exhortation 
to  the  god-parents  and  an  admonition  to 
them  to  complete  the  task  they  have  as- 
sumed by  bringing,  at  the  proper  time,  the 
child  to  the  bishop,  to  be  confirmed  by 


Holy  Baptism  197 

him,  upon  the  assumption  of  the  personal 
responsibility  of  his  vows. 

The  sacrament  of  Holy  Baptism  is  thus 
the  solemn  ratification  to  the  individual  of 
the  great  privilege  and  promise  of  the  Gos- 
pel. On  the  part  of  the  recipient  it  is  the 
expression  of  penitence,  and  faith,  and 
the  determination  to  lead  a  new  life ;  while 
upon  the  part  of  God,  it  is  the  assurance 
and  pledge  of  his  help  and  grace  by  which 
the  resolution  shall  be  brought  to  good 
effect.  And  when  its  conditions  are  faith- 
fully complied  with,  and  its  obligations  as 
well  as  its  privileges  recognized  as  reali- 
ties, its  legitimate  result  is  the  growth  of 
Christian  character  and  the  performance 
of  Christian  duty  in  this  world,  and  in 
the  world  to  come,  life  everlasting. 


LECTUKE     FIFTEENTH 


%tttmt  f iftccntfj 


THE    CATECHISM 


HE  word  "catechism"  is  itself 
significant  of  the  church's 
method  and  idea  of  teaching 
Christian  truth.  It  implies  a 
system  of  questions  and  an- 
swers by  which  the  truth  taught  is  "echoed" 
back  again,  and  in  this  respect  it  places 
the  teacher  and  the  taught  in  their  proper 
mutual  relations. 

There  are  methods  of  Christian  teach- 
ing prevalent  to-day  which,  unconsciously 
and  unintentionally,  furnish  a  preliminary 
training  for  subsequent  skepticism  and 
doubt;  young  persons  are  frequently  called 
upon  to  give  their  original  views  of  the 


202  Leaiire  Fifteenth 

interpretation  of  some  obscure  or  difficult 
passage  of  ScrijDtiire,  and  the  habit  thus 
formed,  with  the  self-confidence  it  inspires, 
comes  in  maturer  life  to  tamper  with  the 
most  sacred  and  unquestioned  verities  of 
the  Word  of  Grod.  But  the  church  does 
not  esteem  very  highly  the  immature  pre- 
cocity which  presumes  to  decide  theolog- 
ical questions  without  knowing  anything 
about  theology,  or  which  enters  the  diffi- 
cult arena  of  biblical  criticism  without  a 
bibhcal  training  and  apparatus.  She  rather 
assumes  her  true  position  as  "witness  and 
keeper  of  the  truth,"  and  bids  us  hearken 
to  her  words  of  wisdom,  that,  thus  humbly 
hstening,  we  may  hear  some  echo  of  the 
voice  of  God. 

The  catechism  is  a  condensed  system  of 
Christian  truth.  The  instructions  of  the 
church,  as  stated  in  the  exhortation  to 
sponsors  in  the  baptismal  office,  are 
grouped  around  the  three  great  symbols 
of  Christianity:  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments.  But 
in'  the  systematic  arrangement  of  these 
they  are  both  preceded  and  followed  by 
other  instructions  which  are  needful  to 


The  Catechism  203 

give  completeness  to  the  entire  statement. 
The  general  analysis  of  the  catechism  will 
therefore  include  five  principal  di\T.sions. 
These  are : 

I.  The  Christian  covenant. 
II.  The  symbol  of  our  faith. 

III.  The  symbol  of  our  duty. 

IV.  The  symbol  of  our  devotion. 

V.  The  seals  of  the  Covenant,  which 
are  the  two  great  Sacraments  of  the 
Chui'ch. 

The  statement  of  the  Christian  cove- 
nant is  introduced  by  the  question,  "What 
is  your  name ! "  referring  to  the  universal 
usage  of  giving  a  name  to  the  candidate 
in  holy  baptism.  But  the  Name  we  bear 
has  a  deeper  significance  here,  as  it  be- 
comes the  signatiu'e  to  the  comxDact 
between  Grod  and  a  human  soul.  The  an- 
swer, "NorM"  (name  or  names),  includes 
only  what  is  known  as  our  Christian  name. 
The  family  name  we  inherit  by  oui*  natu- 
ral birth ;  but  the  Christian  name  which 
is  given  to  us  in  holy  baptism  becomes 
the  distinctive  appellation  of  the  individ- 
ual as  a  member  of  the  flock  of  Christ.  In 


204  Led  lire  Fifteenth 

the  delineation  of  our  Lord  as  the  Grood 
Shepherd,  there  is  no  more  touching 
thought  than  the  fact  that  in  his  omnis- 
cient pastorate  of  souls,  which  gathers  its 
flock  out  of  many  centuries  and  from 
every  land,  "He  calleth  them  all  by 
name."  There  is  an  intimacy  of  personal 
knowledge  and  relationship  implied  in  the 
fact,  which  reminds  us  that  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church  watches  over  us  and  loves 
us,  not  in  crowds  and  multitudes  alone, 
nor  even  in  the  aggregated  whole  of  his 
organic  church,  but  in  the  individual  dis- 
tinctness of  our  personal  character  and 
name.  Even  in  the  ordinary  relationships 
of  life,  there  is  a  sacred ness  in  the  names 
of  men  which  is  often  forgotten.  For  they 
are  the  distinctive  titles  which  distinguish 
one  man  from  another ;  and  even  human 
law  recognizes  that  sacredness  when  it 
pronounces  the  signing  of  another  man's 
name  to  be  a  high  crime  and  attaches 
severe  penalties  to  its  commission.  What 
must  be  the  deeper  sacredness  of  our 
Christian  names,  therefore,  when  we  are 
told  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  knows  us 
by  them,  and  that  in  the  records  of  eter- 


The  Catechism  205 

nity  the  name  of  every  faithful  Chris- 
tian is  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life. 

In  the  old  Hebrew  nomenclatm*e  every 
name  was  significant.  It  recorded  some 
cii'cumstance  connected  with  the  birth  of 
an  individual,  or  it  was  the  permanent 
memorial  of  some  great  hope,  or  sorrow, 
or  consolation,  and  in  many  cases  it  em- 
balmed almost  an  entire  biography  in  a 
single  word.  The  old  Roman  names  were 
ponderous  in  their  dignity,  but  beautiful 
in  their  systematic  and  significant  order, 
and  full  of  music  in  their  stately  rhythm. 
But  the  Christian  names  we  bear  have 
reached  a  significance  which  neither  He- 
brew nor  Eoman  names  ever  knew,  since 
by  their  conferring  in  the  sacred  act  and 
moment  of  baptism,  they  become  at  once 
our  individual  signature  to  the  solemn 
covenant  then  entered  into  between  the 
human  soul  and  God ;  and  for  all  our  sub- 
sequent life  it  is  the  perpetual  memorial 
of  our  privilege,  and  the  constant  reminder 
of  our  duty  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  The 
family  name,  as  we  have  seen,  we  inherit 
by  nature — it  is  the  necessary  patronymic 


206  Leditre  Fifteenth 

of  our  birth;  but  the  Christian  name  we 
receive,  by  immemorial  usage,  at  our  sec- 
ond birth,  and  it  is  by  this  name  that  the 
church  addresses  her  children  ever  after 
in  the  offices  which  she  provides  for  the 
subsequent  Christian  life.  Recognizing, 
therefore,  the  Christian  name  as  the  sig- 
nature, and  the  sacrament  of  holy  baptism 
as  the  seal,  of  Grod's  covenant  of  mercy, 
we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  that  sol- 
emn transaction  in  which,  as  postulants 
for  the  freedom  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  us  free,  we  are  admitted  to  the  priv- 
ileges and  responsibilities  of  our  covenant 
relation  to  him.  These  are  stated  to  be 
threefold,  on  both  sides : 

I.  The  Christian  covenant. 

(1)  The  divine  side  of  that  covenant 
is  declared  to  consist  of  the  three  great 
Christian  privileges  which  are  offered  to 
us  in  the  Grospel.    They  are: 

a.  Membership  in  Christ. 
h.  Being  made  the  children  of  God. 
c.  An  inheritance   of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

But  the  privileges  of  the  one  side  im- 


The  Catechism  207 

ply  also  the  duties  of  the   other.     And 
therefore 

(2)  The  human  side  of  this  covenant  in- 
cludes the  three  Christian  vows ;  which  are 

(1)  The  Vow  of  Eenunciation : 

a.  Of  the  devil  and  all  his  works. 

h.  The  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world. 

c.  The  sinful  desires  of  the  flesh. 

(2)  The  Vow  of  Faith,  in  which  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  believe  all  the  articles 
of  the  Christian  Creed ;  and 

(3)  The  Vow  of  Obedience,  in  which 
we  promise  to  "  keep  God's  holy  will  and 
commandments  and  to  walk  in  the  same 
all  the  days  of  our  life."  Both  of  these  are 
subsequently  enlarged  by  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Creed  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. But  immediately  following  the 
statement  of  the  covenant  there  is  a 

(4)  Practical  application  of  the  truths 
taught,  in  which  the  children  of  the  church 
are  impressed  with 

a.  The  binding  nature  of  Christian  vows ; 
and 

h.  The  need  of  Grod's  grace  to  help  us  in 
keeping  them. 


208  Le£lure  Fifteenth 

The  Second  Division  of  the  Catechism 
contains 

II.  The  symbol  of  om*  faith,  which  is 
the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  this  is  immedi- 
ately followed  by  a  brief  exposition,  as 
teaching  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
and  the  relations  which  the  three  Persons 
of  the  Grodhead  sustain  to  us;  as,  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  world,  the  Redeemer  of  all  man- 
kind, and  the  Sanctifier  of  the  people  of 
aod: 

III.  The  symbol  of  duty  is  found  in  the 
Ten  Commandments,  the  two  tables  of 
which  define 

(1)  Om'  duty  toward  God,  and 

(2)  Our  duty  toward  our  neighbor ;  and 
the  expository  words  which  follow  the 
rehearsal  of  them  constitute  a  condensed 
system  of  morality  in  themselves. 

IV.  The  symbol  of  devotion  is  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  which  is  the  model  of  all  our 
prayers;  and  the  explanation  which  fol- 
lows gives  us  a  glimpse  of  its  comprehen- 
siveness. 


The  Catechism  209 

V.  The  seals  of  the  covenant  are  the 
sacraments  which  Christ  has  ordained. 
Following  closely  the  divine  authority  of 
our  Lord,  the  church  recognizes  but  two 
sacraments  as  "generally  necessary  to 
salvation" — 

(1)  Holy  Baptism,  in  which  there  are 
a.  The  outward  sign  ; 

h.  The  inward  grace; 

c.  The  prerequisites  of  repentance  and 
faith ;  to  which  also  is  added 

d.  The  binding  nature  of  sponsorial  and 
parental  vows. 

The  teaching  of  the  church  culminates 
in  the  simplest  possible  statement  of  the 
great  mystery  of 

(2)  The  Lord's  Supper ;  in  which,  with- 
out defining  the  mode  of  the  mystery, 
either  of  the  presence  or  the  participation, 
the  essential  features  are  declared  to  be 

a.  The  outward  sign ; 
h.  The  inward  grace ; 

c.  The  spiritual  effect;  and 

d.  The  prerequisites  demanded  of  those 
who  would  approach  the  table  of  the  Lord; 
which  are 


210  Ledure  Fifteenth 

(1)  Self-examination; 

(2)  Repentance; 

(3)  Pui'pose  to  lead  a  new  life ; 

(4)  Faith  in  God's  mercy  through  Christ; 

(5)  Thankful  remembrance  of  his  death ; 
and 

(6)  Charity  with  all  men. 

From  this  general  analysis  of  the  cate- 
chism, it  will  be  evident  that  it  is  a  con- 
densed but  comprehensive  body  of  divinity 
which  the  church  j^rovides  for  her  chil- 
dren ;  a  sum  of  dogmatic  teaching  which 
she  thinks  fit  for  them  to  learn ;  an  orderly 
arrangement  of  truth  which  all  children 
may  commit  to  memory,  since  all  Chris- 
tians believe  it ;  and  which,  while  it  is  not 
intended  to  make  theologians  of  all  who 
learn  it,  is  yet  designed  and  calculated 
to  enforce  Grod's  own  combination  of  the 
spiritual  verities  of  the  Christian  life  with 
the  outward  ordinances  of  his  church;  and 
which,  while  emphasizing  both  of  these, 
will  enable  every  one  to  give  a  reason  for 
the  hope  that  is  in  him. 


LECTUEE    SIXTEENTH 


Confirmation 


%tctntc  ^ixtcmti^ 


CONFIRMATION 


HE  apostolic  rite  of  Confirmation 
is  the  natural  and  necessary 
complement  of  infant  baptism; 
though  by  apostolic  usage  and 
the  rule  of  the  church  every- 
where and  always,  until  modern  times,  it 
is  applied  to  adults  also.  The  fact  that 
the  vows  in  holy  baptism  when  adminis- 
tered in  infancy  are  made  by  proxy  implies 
a  future  occasion  when  their  responsibility 
may  be  voluntarily  assumed.  And  this  is 
done  in  connection  with  the  laying  on  of 
hands  and  the  precatory  benediction  of  the 
bishop,  together  with  the  invocation  of 
the  seven-fold  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.   It 


214  Lecture  Sixteenth 

has  constant  reference  to  the  baptismal 
vow,  to  the  promises  then  made,  and  the 
system  of  Christian  instruction  then  pre- 
scribed ;  and  it  looks  forward  to  the  admis- 
sion of  the  candidate  to  his  full  privilege, 
as  a  member  of  Christ,  in  the  Holy  Com- 
munion. 

A  twofold  preparation  is  needful  to  ob- 
tain fully  the  blessings  it  conveys :  There 
must  be  a  preparation  of  mind,  which  im- 
plies an  intelligent  perception  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  faith  and  duty :  and  there  must 
be  a  preparation  of  heart,  by  which  the 
spmtual  nature  shall  be  made  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  manifold  gifts  of  grace.  Both  of 
these  processes  are  presumed  to  continue 
from  the  first  intelligent  days  of  childhood 
to  the  hour  when  the  catechumen  becomes 
a  communicant.  The  intellectual  prepara- 
tion is  that  which  is  prescribed  in  holy 
baptism, —  the  knowledge  of  the  great 
truths  of  our  holy  religion  as  embodied 
in  the  three  great  syml^ols  of  faith,  devo- 
tion, and  duty,  together  with  such  other 
instructions  as  are  in  the  short  catechism 
contained.  And  the  preparation  of  heart 
implies  that  devout  and  prayerful  habit 


Confirmation  215 

of  thought  which  is  cultivated  through  all 
the  years  of  a  Christian  childhood,  and 
which  is,  in  its  truest  sense,  that  script- 
ural conversion  which  is  the  process  of 
our  whole  mortal  life.  While  this  general 
preparation  is  the  work  of  all  the  early 
years  of  a  human  life,  there  is  a  special 
interest  connected  with  the  administration 
of  the  apostolic  rite,  and  it  is  customary 
for  the  parish  priest  to  meet  the  class  of 
candidates,  in  anticipation  of  the  visitation 
of  the  bishop,  for  instruction  in  regard  to 
the  Christian  life,  and  especially  with  refer- 
ence to  their  first  communion. 

The  "  Order  of  Confirmation  "  states  very 
distinctly  the  outline  of  truth  and  duty 
which  the  church  prescribes.  It  includes 
three  distinct  and  yet  closely  related  par- 
ticulars :  (1)  The  knowledge  of  the  Creed, 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments, 
and  the  Catechism;  (2)  The  ratification  of 
the  promises  made  by  sponsors  in  baptism ; 
and  (3)  The  promise  of  obedience  in  the 
future  and  the  "  endeavor  to  observe  such 
things  as  by  their  confession  they  have 
assented  unto."  The  rubric  at  the  close 
of  the  office  defines  the  relation  which  the 


216  Lecture  Sixteenth 

rite   of   Confirmation  bears  to  the   Holy 
Commnnion. 

The  service  throughout  is  simple  and 
almost  interprets  itself.  The  occasion  of  its 
use  is  always  an  interesting  one  in  the 
parish,  as  the  gathered  harvest  of  the 
parochial  year.  It  is  the  form  by  which 
those  who  have  come  to  years  of  discretion 
are  enabled  to  make  their  good  confession 
of  Christ  before  the  world,  and  to  be  en- 
rolled among  the  number  of  his  acknowl- 
edged disciples,  by  the  personal  ratification 
of  their  baptismal  vow.  The  versicles 
which  follow  this  ratification  recognize 
the  truth  that  all  our  spiritual  strength 
must  come  from  God ;  and  the  prayer  which 
is  then  used  refers  alike  to  the  blessings 
conferred  in  holy  baptism  and  the  mani- 
fold gifts  of  grace  needful  in  the  subsequent 
warfare  of  the  Christian  life.  The  "laying 
on  of  hands "  is  accompanied  by  a  bene- 
diction which  states  both  the  irrevocable 
character  of  the  Christian  vow  and  the 
progressive  nature  of  the  Christian  life.  It 
asks  that  the  person  confirmed  may  con- 
tinue to  be  the  Lord's  forever,  by  the  de- 
fense of  his  heavenly  grace ;  and  that  he 


Confirmation  217 

may  daily  increase  in  the  Holy  Spirit  more 
and  more  through  all  the  disciplines  of 
this  life  until  he  come  to  the  everlasting 
kingdom.  The  idea  of  a  progressive  sanc- 
tification  of  heart  and  life  here  expressed 
is  almost  the  echo  of  the  apostolic  injunc- 
tion, "grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviom^  Jesus  Christ." 
And  it  conceives  of  our  earthly  probation 
as  a  constant  advance  in  holiness  and  duty 
until  its  consummation  is  reached  in  the 
diviner  life  to  come. 

The  succeeding  prayers  imply  the  same 
conception  of  the  Christian  life,  and  the 
service  concludes  with  the  blessing  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  upon  the  person  confirmed. 

The  use  of  the  word  "  Confirmation  "  in 
two  different  senses,  in  connection  with 
this  office,  has  created  some  confusion  of 
thought  concerning  the  nature  of  the  rite. 
The  candidate  does  "  ratify  and  confirm  " 
his  baptismal  vow;  but  also  he  is  confirmed 
and  strengthened  in  his  religious  life.  It 
is  this  latter  sense  which  gives  the  name 
to  the  rite.  "  The  laying  on  of  hands  "  is  a 
significant  and  essential  act.  It  corresponds 
to  the  manual  act  in  the  ordination  of  the 
19 


218  Lecture  Sixteenth 

clergy  to  their  sacred  office ;  and  its  signifi- 
cance here  as  apphed  to  the  laity  implies 
an  ordination  to  the  universal  priesthood 
of  believers,  in  which  we  are  to  offer  not 
only  the  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  thanksgiv- 
ing to  Grod,  in  the  ritual  worship  of  his 
church,  but  also  the  more  comprehensive 
and  permanent  sacrifice  of  a  consecrated 
life. 


LECTUEE    SEVENTEENTH 


Hcctutc  ^ebentccntfj 


THE    MAKEIAGE    SERVICE 


HE  first  thing  that  strikes  our 
attention  in  the  "  Form  of  Sol- 
emnization of  Matrimony"  is 
the  emphasis  which  the  church 
places  upon  the  necessity  of 
publicity  in  the  celebration  of  this  rite. 
This  is  based  upon  the  sacred  character 
and  the  intrinsic  nature  of  the  marriage 
bond,  which  is  a  union  of  two  hearts  and 
two  lives  in  one,  and  which  can  properly 
be  separated  only  by  death.  The  mutual 
consent  of  the  parties  to  be  married  is  the 
fact  which  underlies  the  marriage  cere- 
mony. And  this  fact  is  based  upon  that 
mutual  affection  which  renders  a  man  and 


222  Le^ure  Se'centeenth 

a  woman  essential  to  each  other's  happi- 
ness ;  in  the  fulfillment  of  which  they  are 
ready  to  take  each  other  for  better  or  for 
worse,  for  sickness  or  for  health,  and  to 
pledge  to  each  other  their  faithful  promise 
to  share  all  the  vicissitudes  and  contin- 
gencies of  an  unknown  future.  And  the 
idea  of  the  marriage  service  is  the  placing 
of  the  benediction  of  Grod  and  his  holy 
church  upon  this  mutual  union,  together 
with  the  public  proclamation  of  it  before 
the  world.  While,  in  the  sense  of  mutual 
honor  and  faithful  love,  the  parties  may 
be  said  to  belong  to  each  other  from  the 
moment  of  what  we  call  their  "engage- 
ment," yet,  for  the  protection  of  society, 
it  is  needful  that  this  private  union  of 
mutual  affection  should  be  formally  and 
publicly  recognized  and  declared.  And 
this  is  done  in  connection  with  the  bene- 
diction of  the  church  and  solemn  prayer 
for  Grod's  blessing  upon  the  union.  Any- 
thing like  a  clandestine  ceremony  is,  there- 
fore, contrary  to  the  idea  of  marriage 
itself,  and  finds  no  sanction  whatever  in 
the  office  of  the  church  for  its  solemniza- 
tion.   It  is  the  more  important  for  us  to 


The  Marriage  Service  223 

observe  this  principle  because  the  ease 
with  which  young  people  enter  into  this 
solemn  compact,  and  the  secrecy  which  so 
frequently  attends  its  solemnization,  in 
the  popular  usage  of  the  day,  is  one  of 
the  crying  sins  of  our  time,  and  has  be- 
come the  prohfic  source  of  domestic  un- 
happiness,  of  infidelity  to  the  marriage 
vow,  and  of  the  shameful  frequency  of  di- 
vorce, which  blots  and  disgraces  our  civili- 
zation. In  the  hurry  and  excitement  of 
our  American  life,  there  are  thousands 
who  marry  in  haste  only  to  repent  at  lei- 
sure; who  marry  in  private  only  to  be 
disgraced  in  public ;  and  it  is  quite  worth 
our  while  to  observe  how  the  church,  like 
a  careful  mother,  guards  and  shields  her 
children  from  the  possible  results  of  youth- 
ful impulsiveness  and  impetuosity. 

In  the  church  of  England  the  old  cus- 
tom of  "  publishing  the  banns  "  for  three 
Sundays  preceding  the  ceremony  was  a 
perpetual  safeguard  against  hasty  and  ill- 
assorted  unions.  And  it  is  no  improve- 
ment on  the  old  churchly  way  that  we 
have  substituted  for  this,  the  requirement 
of  a  license,  in  some   States   (which  is 


224  Lecture  Seventeenth 

usually  only  a  revenue  law  at  best),  or,  in 
others,  the  lower  requirement  still  of  a 
report  of  the  marriage,  after  it  has  taken 
place,  to  the  board  of  health,  for  statisti- 
cal purposes.  The  fact  is,  the  more  public 
and  solemn  the  marriage  rite  is  made,  the 
more  careful  will  persons  be  in  entering 
into  its  irrevocable  vows;  and  there  is 
nothing  which  more  thoroughly  undermines 
the  foundations  of  society  than  looseness 
of  practice  in  this  matter,  and  the  ease 
with  which  divorces  are  obtained  to-day. 
The  publication  of  banns  has  gone  out  of 
use,  as  a  general  thing,  and  it  is  much  to 
be  regretted  that  it  is  so.  The  formal  an- 
nouncement of  an  engagement  takes  its 
place  in  society  to  some  extent,  but  it  fails 
in  this  respect,  that  such  formal  announce- 
ments are  common  only  in  spheres  of  so- 
cial life  which  least  need  it  as  a  safeguard, 
and  leave  the  great  mass  of  people  with- 
out the  protection  of  even  such  a  custom. 
The  necessity  for  a  public  and  open 
ceremony,  in  the  church's  idea,  is  further 
recognized  and  emphasized  by  the  fact 
that  it  is  to  take  place,  either  in  the  body 
of  the  church  or  in  some  proper  house, 


The  Marriage  Service  225 

in  the  presence  of  the  friends  and  neighbors 
of  the  parties  to  be  married.  Of  course,  the 
church  is  always  the  better  place,  as  it  is 
for  all  the  public  rites  and  offices ;  but 
when  special  circumstances  justify  or  even 
require  that  the  ceremony  should  be  in  a 
private  house,  then  that  house  must  be, 
for  the  time  being,  transformed  into  a 
chm'ch,  and  the  congregation  must  be  rep- 
resented by  a  sufficient  number  of  friends 
and  neighbors  to  make  the  ceremony  a 
public  act. 

With  these  preliminaries  all  properly 
settled,  the  marriage  service  proceeds  to 
its  benediction  with  every  care  to  discover 
any  real  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  pro- 
posed union,  and  to  provide,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, against  any  future  cause  of  regret 
for  the  irrevocable  step  about  to  be  taken. 
It  commences  with  a  double  challenge, 
first  to  the  witnesses  of  the  transaction 
and  next  to  the  parties  themselves.  This 
challenge  to  the  witnesses  contains  also 
the  statement  of  the  honorable  and  sacred 
character  of  this  holy  estate:  the  fact 
that  it  is  commended  in  Holy  Scripture  to 
be  honorable  among  all  men,  and  that  it 


226  Lediire  Seventeenth 

is  to  be  entered  into  "  reverently,  discreetly, 
advisedly,  soberly,  and  in  the  fear  of  God." 
With  this  reference  to  the  scriptural  au- 
thority and  sacred  character  of  the  insti- 
tution of  marriage,  the  challenge  proceeds 
to  demand  any  objection  which  may  pos- 
sibly be  offered,  and  although  it  is  usually 
only  a  form,  yet  it  is  valuable  as  the  for- 
mula of  a  great  truth.  A  similar  challenge 
is  addressed  to  the  parties  about  to  be  mar- 
ried, and  it  warns  them  that  unless  their 
union  be  such  as  is  in  every  way  proper,  the 
benediction  of  God  cannot  rest  upon  it.  The 
next  thing  is  to  ascertain  the  willingness 
of  the  parties  themselves  to  enter  into  this 
life-long  contract,  and  this  is  done  by  taking 
their  mutual  consent,  in  order  to  certify  to 
the  church  and  the  world  that  they  enter 
into  this  compact  freely  and  voluntarily, 
and  without  any  compulsion  whatever. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  in  this  country  to 
appreciate  the  value  and  the  importance 
of  this  part  of  the  service.  But  we  shall  be 
assisted  in  our  appreciation  if  we  remem- 
ber that  in  European  countries,  in  the  past, 
marriages  were  frequently  arranged  by  the 
parents  of  the  parties  for  reasons  of  family 


The  Marriage  Service  227 

influence  or  estate,  or  by  the  representa- 
tives of  governments  for  political  or  dip- 
lomatic reasons,  and  that  thus  the  family 
pride,  or  the  avaricious  cupidity,  or  the 
political  ambition  of  men  has  degraded 
the  holy  estate  of  matrimony  by  uniting 
together,  in  the  solemn  compact  of  an  in- 
dissoluble bond,  parties  who  were  not 
drawn  together  by  mutual  affection  at  all. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  in  the  hasty  and 
ill-assorted  unions  which  occur  in  our  own 
day,  this  form  of  taking  the  mutual  consent 
might  be  powerless  to  arrest  a  great  wrong 
upon  the  threshold  of  its  consummation, 
but  if  it  be  so,  it  is  not  the  church's  fault. 
She  has  done  what  she  could  to  prevent 
such  a  result. 

After  the  assurance  of  mutual  consent 
follows  what  is  usually  known  as  "the 
giving  away  of  the  bride."  And  there  is  a 
deep  significance  in  this.  It  is  introduced 
by  the  question  of  the  minister,  "Who  giv- 
eth  this  woman  to  be  married  to  this  man  ? " 
and  it  implies  that  no  young  woman  has  a 
right  to  become  a  bride  without  the  con- 
sent of  her  parents  or  those  who  represent 
them ;  and  that  her  future  husband  receives 


228  Le^iirc  Seventeenth 

his  bride  as  a  sacred  trust  from  her  father 
through  the  medium  and  by  the  hand  of  the 
holy  church.  The  principle  applies  specifi- 
cally to  the  bride  who,  in  the  early  morning 
of  her  womanhood,  is  led  forth  from  the  safe 
protection  of  her  father's  house  "  to  share 
her  cloven  half  of  destiny  with  another  " ; 
but  even  where  the  bride  is  a  person  of 
mature  age,  the  question  is  still  asked  and 
answered,  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  a 
woman  entering  into  this  holy  relationship 
should  do  so  with  the  approval  and  sanc- 
tion of  her  natural  protectors  and  friends. 
The  proper  form  of  giving  away  the  bride 
is  for  the  father  of  the  bride  (or  the  friend 
who  represents  him  on  the  occasion)  to 
take  the  right  hand  of  the  bride  and  place 
it  in  the  right  hand  of  the  officiating  min- 
ister. He  thus  surrenders  her  to  the  church 
to  be  transferred  by  the  minister  to  her 
future  husband  by  placing  her  right  hand 
in  his,  with  the  right  hands  of  both  parties 
clasping  each  other.  Then  the  solemn  vow 
of  marriage  is  taken  and  the  mutual  troth 
is  plighted.  The  words  in  which  this  com- 
pact is  expressed  are  comprehensive  and 
carefully   chosen.     They  mean   precisely 


The  Marriage  Service  229 

what  they  say,  and  they  embody  a  truth 
which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  social 
order,  of  all  domestic  happiness,  and  of 
every  Christian  family  and  home.  It  is  a 
union  which  is  to  be  irrevocable;  which 
no  vicissitudes  of  fortune  can  sunder;  a 
tie  which  neither  sickness  nor  adversity 
nor  the  ills  of  life  can  sever,  but  which  is 
to  last  through  the  whole  period  of  this 
mortal  life.  The  mutual  vow  is  identical 
on  both  sides,  with  the  single  exception 
that  on  the  part  of  the  woman  she  also 
promises  obedience  to  her  husband  as  well 
as  love  and  honor.  This  is  simply  the  rec- 
ognition of  the  scriptural  relation  of  the 
wife  to  the  husband,  and  can  never  be  un- 
just or  degrading  where  the  union  is  based 
upon  mutual  esteem,  respect,  and  love. 

As  a  seal  of  this  indissoluble  union,  the 
ceremony  of  the  ring  is  next  performed. 
For  this  there  is  the  precedent  of  a  remote 
antiquity.  The  ring  is  the  symbol  of  eter- 
nity, and  it  implies  constancy  and  integ- 
rity as  well.  And  its  use,  at  this  particular 
moment,  implies  the  enduring  character 
of  the  union  thus  entered  into.  In  olden 
times,  it  was  accompanied  with  the  gift  of 
20 


230  Lecture  Seventeenth 

gold  and  silver,  but  this  is  equally  effected 
by  the  declaration  of  the  man  in  which  he 
endows  his  wife  with  all  his  worldly  goods, 
and  thereby  asserts  that  for  the  future 
their  interests,  their  life,  and  even  their 
property  are  one  and  undivided. 

The  prayer  of  benediction  then  follows, 
in  which  there  is  incorporated  a  reference 
to  the  romantic  union  of  Isaac  and  Rebecca, 
whose  propriety  and  significance  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  their  marriage  un- 
ion was  the  first  recorded  instance  in  the 
patriarchal  age  of  one  man  and  one  woman 
united  in  this  holy  estate.  The  sentence 
of  marriage  which  follows  consummates 
the  union,  as  the  minister,  joining  their 
right  hands,  unites  them  in  the  sacred 
bond  which  death  alone  can  sever.  There 
are  no  more  solemn  words  in  the  Prayer- 
Book  than  these.  They  assert,  and  for 
ages  have  asserted,  the  vicarious  function 
of  the  priesthood  in  the  church,  and,  with 
unfaltering  accent,  they  place  upon  this  act 
the  seal  of  the  impressive  words,  "  Those 
whom  Grod  hath  joined  together,  let  no 
man  put  asunder."  It  is  thus  recognized 
as  Grod's  transaction ;    the  voice   of  the 


The  Marriage  Service  231 

minister  is  the  audible  echo  of  God's  voice : 


and  his  act,  thus  performed,  in  Grod's  name, 
becomes  the  act  of  him  whose  representa- 
tive and  minister  he  is. 

The  proclamation  of  this  completed 
compact  is  then  made  to  the  witnesses, 
and  through  them  to  the  world.  And 
henceforth,  among  the  families  of  men, 
and  in  the  social  life  of  the  community, 
these  two  persons  are  recognized  as  one, 
united  in  the  oldest  and  most  sacred  of 
human  relationships.  The  final  benedic- 
tion of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  then  given  to 
the  kneeling  couple,  and,  with  this  in- 
vocation of  God's  blessing,  they  go  from 
his  altar  to  be  ushered  into  the  realities 
of  life  by  the  congratulations  of  friends, 
by  the  timely  gifts  and  tokens  of  affection 
with  which  loving  hearts  express  their 
best  wishes  for  the  future  happiness  of  the 
newly  married  couple ;  and  by  the  domes- 
tic and  social  festivities  which,  in  one 
shape  or  another,  usually  accompany  the 
bride  in  her  transition  from  the  years  of 
maidenhood  to  the  fuller  and  more  sacred 
womanhood  of  a  true  and  loving  wife. 

The  lesson  of  the  Marriage  Service,  in 


232  Leclnre  Seventeenth 

this  day  of  loose  and  irreverent  notions 
upon  this  subject,  ought  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. In  contrast  with  the  low  and  un- 
worthy idea  of  a  temporary  compact,  based 
upon  transient  affinities  and  to  be  abro- 
gated when  those  affinities  cease,  it  is  rec- 
ognized as  an  ordinance  of  Grod  as  old  as 
the  race  itself.  It  is  a  perpetual  parable 
of  the  mystical  union  between  Christ  and 
the  Chui'ch;  its  celebration  was  adorned 
and  beautified  by  the  presence  and  first 
miracle  of  the  Incarnate  Christ  at  Cana  of 
Galilee;  it  was  instituted  in  the  time  of 
man's  innocency,  and  the  union  of  two 
loving  and  faithful  hearts  in  the  fidehty 
of  the  marriage  vow  and  the  blessings  of  a 
Christian  home  is  as  near  as  we  may  ever 
hope  to  realize  on  earth  the  blessedness  of 
our  first  parents  in  the  Garden  of  Eden 
before  the  Fall. 


LECTURE    EIGHTEENTH 


ai^imtion  of  t^t  J>icfe 


Hcctiire  o^igljtecnt^ 


VISITATION   OF   THE   SICK 


N  providing  for  all  the  contin- 
gencies of  this  mortal  life,  the 
church  places  next  to  the  mar- 
riage service  the  office  for  the 
Visitation  of  the  Sick.  Its  object 
is  to  bring  the  consolations  and  helps  of 
the  church  to  those  who  are  unable  to  en- 
joy them  in  the  sanctuary,  and  thus  to 
afford,  at  the  time  they  are  most  needed, 
the  means  of  grace,  by  the  aid  of  which 
the  ills  of  this  life  may  be  patiently  en- 
dured and  sanctified  to  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  soul.  The  office  includes 
all  the  provisions  needful  for  the  most 
complete  and  edifying  visitation  of  a  sick 


236  Ledure  Eighteenth 

person;  and  yet,  from  the  suffrages  and 
collects,  the  exhortations  and  psalms  which 
it  contains,  a  shorter  service  may  be  selected 
by  the  officiating  minister,  adapted  to  the 
varying  necessities  of  the  special  cases 
which  come  under  his  care.  The  full  office 
should  be  used  at  least  once  during  every 
serious  illness,  though  for  the  occasional 
visits  of  a  pastor,  during  a  brief  attack  of 
sickness,  or  even  during  the  tedious  prog- 
ress of  a  long  disease,  the  shorter  service 
may  be  sufficient. 

The  rubric  which  precedes  the  order  for 
the  visitation  of  the  sick  contains  the  state- 
ment of  a  forgotten  duty  which,  if  prop- 
erly attended  to,  would  often  save  much 
embarrassment  to  the  pastor  and  many 
complaints  on  the  part  of  the  parishioner. 
It  is  this,  "  When  any  person  is  sick,  no- 
tice shall  be  given  to  the  minister  of  the 
parish."  This  rubric  is  the  echo  of  the 
apostolic  precept  of  St.  James:  "Is  any 
among  you  sick  ?  let  him  send  for  the  eld- 
ers of  the  church."  In  many  instances, 
the  neglect  of  this  prescription  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  the  church  creates  a  feeling 
of  injured  innocence  on  the  part  of  the 


Visitation  of  the  Sick  237 

sick  and  of  unperformed  duty  on  the  part 
of  the  pastor,  which  has  no  foundation  at 
all  in  fact.  Too  frequently  it  is  left  for 
the  minister  of  the  parish  to  hear  of  the 
sickness  of  the  members  of  his  flock  by 
casual  chances  of  conversation  with  other 
parishioners;  and  then,  after  hastening, 
upon  his  first  information,  to  perform  his 
pastoral  duty,  he  is  met  with  the  reproach 
that  the  sick  person  has  been  ill  for  a  fort- 
night and  he  has  never  been  to  see  him. 
And  there  is  an  implied  charge  of  neglect 
here  that  is  very  painful  to  the  heart  of 
any  faithful  parish  priest.  The  actual 
neglect  rests  with  the  sick  person  and  his 
friends,  and  not  with  the  pastor  at  all.  The 
family  physician  is  not  expected  to  know 
of  the  sickness  of  his  patients,  and  of  their 
desire  to  have  his  attendance,  unless  he  is 
informed  of  the  fact ;  and  no  more  has  the 
pastor  a  right  either  to  know  of  the  sick- 
ness or  to  be  assured  that  his  visits  are 
desired  and  would  be  acceptable.  He  has 
no  attribute  of  omniscience  by  which  he 
can  tell  of  the  bodily  health  or  illness  of 
those  committed  to  his  care.  In  a  large 
congregation,  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 


238  Le£litre  Eighteenth 

detect  the  absence  of  this  or  that  member 
of  his  charge ;  and  even  if  it  were,  he  has 
other  things  to  think  of  during  divine  serv- 
ice than  making  a  mental  memorandum 
of  the  calls  to  be  made  during  the  week, 
and  he  is  compelled,  therefore,  to  rely 
upon  the  compliance  of  his  people  with  the 
rule  of  the  Scripture  and  the  church.  Other- 
wise he  is  not  amenable  to  the  charge  of 
a  neglect  of  duty,  when  any  member  of  his 
flock  endures,  day  after  day  and  week  after 
week,  the  sickness  which  God  sends,  with- 
out the  consolations  of  the  church. 

But  no  sick-room  is  fit  for  a  Christian 
unless  its  very  atmosphere  is  hallowed  by 
prayer.  For  this,  there  is  ample  provision 
in  this  office,  and  its  construction  admits 
of  any  degree  of  flexibility  in  its  use  and 
of  adaptation  to  any  particular  circum- 
stance or  case. 

The  service  opens  with  a  benediction  of 
peace  upon  the  house,  and  is  followed  by 
appropriate  introductory  prayers,  which 
may  be  abbreviated  if  necessity  so  require. 
For  the  aid  of  those  who  are  unskilled  in 
the  consolation  and  instruction  of  the  sick, 
forms  of  exhortation  follow,  in  which  the 


Visitation  of  the  Sick  239 

ministry  of  sickness  is  fully  explained,  that 
it  may  be  sanctified  to  the  health  of  the 
soul.  This  homily  upon  the  use  and  office 
of  God's  providence  in  sickness  is  divided 
into  two  parts  in  order  that  it  may  be  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  strength  and  condition 
of  the  patient.  Following  this  there  is  an 
examination  of  the  faith  of  the  sick  man, 
which  is  needful  only  in  case  he  be  a 
stranger,  though  proper  in  every  case  as 
a  rehearsal  of  Chi'istian  belief.  And  the 
rubric  then  directs  that,  in  case  of  dan- 
gerous illness,  the  minister  shall  admonish 
him  to  forgive,  from  the  bottom  of  his 
heart,  all  that  have  offended  him;  to  seek 
forgiveness  of  those  whom  he  has  offended; 
that  so  he  may  die  at  peace  with  God  and 
in  charity  with  all  the  world ;  and  then  he 
is  to  move  the  sick  man  to  arrange  the 
settlement  of  his  estate,  and  to  make  proper 
disposition  of  his  earthly  goods,  not  forget- 
ting, in  their  distribution,  the  necessities 
of  the  poor,  and  we  may  add,  also,  the 
requirements  and  needs  of  the  church. 
The  liberality  to  the  poor,  which  the  rubric 
prescribes,  is  best  exercised  by  bequests 
to  charitable  institutions,  to  hospitals,  and 


2-iO  Letliire  Eighteenth 

orphan  houses,  by  which  the  apocalyptic 
benediction  of  the  faithful  dead  may  be 
most  specifically  and  permanently  realized: 
"They  rest  from  their  labors  and  their 
works  do  follow  them."  Nor  should  the 
needs  and  the  sacred  work  of  the  parish 
be  forgotten.  There  is  always  some  special 
way  in  which  the  steward  of  Grod's  bounty 
may  recognize  his  goodness,  in  the  parish 
life  itself.  In  the  completion  of  an  unfin- 
ished building,  or  the  erection  of  a  tower 
or  belfry  provided  for  in  the  plan  of  the 
church  edifice,  but  never  completed;  in 
the  provision  for  a  memorial  window,  in 
which  the  name  of  the  departed  may  be 
associated  with  the  services  of  Grod's  house 
rather  than  be  the  subject  of  some  marble 
extravagance  in  the  cemetery;  in  a  per- 
manent fund,  whose  income  shall  be  appro- 
priated to  some  charitable  object  or  some 
needy  class, —  in  a  hundred  ways,  if  he 
choose  to  think  of  it,  the  devout  church- 
man may  make  his  works  follow  him,  long 
after  he  himself  has  passed  to  his  rest. 

There  is  a  noticeable  difference  at  this 
point  between  our  service  and  that  of  the 
English  Prayer-Book.  It  is  the  substitution 


Visitation  of  the  Sick  241 

of  a  prayer  for  pardon  instead  of  a  sentence 
of  absolution.  And,  considering  the  con- 
troversy which  the  judicial  form  has  caused 
in  the  English  Church,  and  remembering 
also  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
the  absolution  of  penitents  provided  for 
by  our  Lord,  it  is  no  matter  of  gi^eat  im- 
portance, since  in  every  serious  case  of  ill- 
ness there  will  be  the  administration  of 
the  Holy  Communion,  which  contains  an 
absolution  sufficiently  direct  and  authori- 
tative to  quiet  the  anxieties  and  dispel  the 
fears  of  any  truly  penitent  heart. 

Two  forms  of  benediction  follow,  either 
or  both  of  which  may  be  used  as  circum- 
stances require,  and  the  remaining  por- 
tion of  the  office  is  made  up  of  special 
prayers  to  be  used  as  occasion  may  demand. 
Two  of  these  are  among  the  most  precious 
formularies  of  the  church's  devotions,  and 
are  associated  with  the  most  solemn  crises 
and  events  of  human  life.  One  is  the  com- 
mendatory prayer  "to  be  said  for  a  sick 
person  at  the  point  of  departure,"  and 
whose  solemn  words  have  so  often  been 
used  in  the  impressive  hour  when  the  soul 
is  passing  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh  to 
21 


242  Leaiire  Eighteenth 

the  realities  of  the  invisible  world.  And 
the  other  is  the  prayer  for  all  present  at 
the  visitation,  whose  associations  are  almost 
equally  solemn  and  impressive,  since  it  is 
so  frequently  used  in  the  burial  service,  on 
account  of  its  recognition  of  the  shortness 
of  human  life  and  the  great  blessing  of 
a  peaceful  Christian  death.  A  form  of 
thanksgiving  is  added  for  the  beginning 
of  a  recovery,  which,  when  said,  is  usually 
one  of  the  heartiest  prayers  which  ever 
ascends  to  God,  as  it  recognizes  the  near- 
ness with  which  He  comes  to  us  in  sick- 
ness and  accepts,  with  a  gratitude  which 
words  can  but  feebly  express,  the  return- 
ing signs  of  health  as  the  gift  of  his  mer- 
ciful hand. 

Peoviding  for  all  contingencies,  how- 
ever, the  church  next  arranges  in  her 
services  for  The  Communion  of  the  Sick. 
And  this  provision  contemplates  not 
merely  the  possibility  of  death,  in  which 
it  becomes  the  Viaticum  of  the  faithful 
Christian,  but  also  and  equally  its  use  in 
any  sudden  or  long-continued  illness,  by 
which  a  member  of  Christ  is  deprived  of 


Visitation  of  the  Sick  243 

the  refreshment  of  his  soul  in  the  partak- 
ing of  his  Body  and  Blood.  The  service 
is  necessarily  an  abbreviated  form,  since  a 
prayer  of  consecration  is  requii'ed  upon 
every  occasion  of  administration.  It  was 
thought  needful  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  English  book  to  forbid  the  reservation 
of  the  consecrated  elements — a  prohibi- 
tion which,  however  needless  now,  for  the 
reasons  upon  which  it  was  originally 
based  must  nevertheless  be  obeyed.  And 
therefore,  to  make  the  service  possible 
without  injury  to  the  weakened  condition 
of  the  sick,  it  is  sufficiently  abbreviated  to 
make  it  entirely  practicable  even  in  cases 
of  severe  and  dangerous  illness.  It  begins 
with  the  Collect,  omitting  the  Decalogue 
and  its  responses ;  the  Epistle  and  Gospel 
are  the  shortest  possible,  each  consisting 
of  but  a  single  verse,  and  the  service  then 
passes  to  the  invitation  beginning,  "Ye 
who  do  truly  and  earnestly  repent  you  of 
your  sins."  And  of  all  the  ministrations 
possible  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick,  none  is 
so  helpful  and  consoling  as  this. 

There  are  foui*  rubrical  directions  con- 
nected with   this   service,  two   of  which 


244  Le£ture  Eighteenth 

refer  to  incidental  matters  and  two  of 
which  assert  fundamental  iDrinciples  of 
the  church's  system.  The  incidental  ar- 
rangements are  that  in  the  administration 
the  minister  shall  fij'st  receive,  then  those 
who  are  present,  and,  finally,  the  sick 
person — which  is  a  prudential  safeguard 
against  the  risk  of  infection,  as  well  as  a 
suggestion  of  propriety;  and  the  second 
is  that  when  the  Visitation  Office  is  used 
in  connection  with  the  Lord's  Supper, 
only  the  earlier  part  of  it  is  required.  But 
the  first  of  the  fundamental  principles  is 
that  there  must  always  be  others  to  com- 
mune with  the  sick  person,  where  it  is 
possible.  And  the  meaning  of  the  require- 
ment is  that  in  this  church  the  Holy 
Communion  is  never  to  be  celebrated  as  a 
solitary  mass.  Like  every  other  service, 
it  requires  a  congregation  of  at  least  two 
or  three  gathered  together  in  order  to 
render  it  complete  and  the  more  confi- 
dently to  claim  the  promised  presence  of 
Christ  in  their  midst.  There  must  be  a 
communion  as  well  as  a  consecration; 
a  feast  as  well  as  a  sacrifice.  And  this 
is  everywhere  in  her  system  recognized 


yisitation  of  the  Sick  245 

as  necessary,  except  only  when  circum- 
stances render  it  impossible. 

The  other  important  principle  is  the 
statement  of  the  possibility  of  a  Spiritual 
Communion,  where  the  outward  ordinance 
cannot,  for  any  just  impediment,  be  ob- 
served. But  the  Spiritual  Communion, 
without  the  Sacrament,  is  as  exceptional 
as  the  solitary  one  is  intended  to  be.  By 
due  care  neither  of  these  contingencies 
need  ever  occur,  and  it  is  the  privilege  of 
every  Christian  to  enjoy  in  the  fullness 
of  its  benediction  the  highest  ordinance  of 
the  church ;  and,  if  he  need  it  constantly 
in  the  pathway  and  struggle  of  his  daily 
life,  much  more  does  he  need  it  in  the 
time  of  sickness  or  in  the  prospect  of  the 
hour  of  death. 

Taken  together,  these  two  services,  the 
Visitation  and  the  Communion  of  the  Sick, 
are  intended  to  interpret,  and  by  God's 
blessing  to  sanctify,  the  dispensations  of 
his  providence  in  our  mortal  life.  They 
are  calculated  to  lift  the  soul  in  its  depres- 
sion ;  to  strengthen  faith  in  its  weakness ; 
and  to  cheer  the  sinking  heart  when  the 
waves  and  the  storms  go  over  it.    And, 


246  Lecture  Eighteenth 

by  that  interpretation  and  help,  these  light 
afflictions,  which  last  but  for  a  moment, 
are  made  to  work  out  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory,  while 
we  look,  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen, 
but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen. 


LECTURE    NINETEENTH 

<^^t  2S>utial  of  tlje  2Dcati 


^i^is:^! 

M 

?^!?^^Sj 

Hccmrc  l^mctccittf) 

THE    BURIAL    OF    THE    DEAD 

HE  funeral  rites  of  any  people 
are  naturally  the  expression  of 
their  faith  and  hope  concern- 
ing the  departed.  The  service 
which  the  church  provides  for 
her  children  is  at  once  an  appropriate  con- 
solation for  the  grief  of  the  living  and  a 
fitting  tribute  of  respect  for  the  dead.  The 
various  forms  of  the  office  used  in  dif- 
ferent periods  have  always  borne  its  testi- 
mony to  the  share  which  the  body  has  in 
the  redemption  by  our  Lord;  to  the  fact 
that  our  bodies  are  the  temples  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  that  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ 
are  to  preserve  both  the  body  and  soul  of 


250  Le£twe  'Nineteenth 

the  faithful  Christian  unto  everlasting  life ; 
that  the  day  is  coming  when  the  power  of 
Christ  shall  "  change  our  ^dle  bodies,  and 
make  them  like  unto  his  own  glorious 
body,  according  to  the  mighty  working 
whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things 
unto  himself";  that,  as  the  light  of  his 
resurrection  rests  upon  the  tombs  of  the 
faithful  departed,  it  reveals  the  grave  to  be 
but  the  guardian  of  their  dust  and  the 
treasuiy  of  the  skies;  and  that  ever  through 
the  long  ages  which  elapse  between  death 
and  the  resurrection 

'*  God,  the  Redeemer,  lives, 
And  ever  from  the  skies 
Looks  down  and  watches  o'er  their  dust, 
TiU  he  shaU  bid  it  rise." 

The  burial  service  of  the  church,  both 
in  its  general  structure  and  in  the  require- 
ments of  its  rubrics,  is  conceived  and  ar- 
ranged for  use  in  the  ideal  parish  church  or 
village  chapel,  where  the  edifice  stands  in 
the  midst  of  the  graveyard,  where  the  sleep- 
ing faithful  lie  who  in  life  have  worshiped 
within  its  walls.  The  intimate  association 
which   is   thus   recognized    between    the 


The  Burial  of  the  Dead  251 

church  militant  here  on  earth  and  the 
departed  who  rest  in  Paradise  is  ahnost 
impossible  in  large  cities,  where  the  ceme- 
tery lies  miles  away  from  the  parish 
church,  and  to  which  the  remains  of  the 
deceased  must  be  borne,  oftentimes  with 
unseemly  haste,  through  crowded  streets  to 
their  final  resting-place. 

The  rubric  directs  the  service  to  begin 
at  the  entrance  to  the  churchyard  or  the 
door  of  the  church.  And  while  there  is  a 
certain  propriety  in  some  cases  in  holding 
the  final  service  in  the  late  residence  of  the 
deceased,  there  are  always  inconveniences 
and  improprieties  connected  with  funerals 
in  private  houses  which  might  easily  be 
avoided  by  having  the  public  service  in 
the  church.  This  is  especially  the  case 
where  the  deceased  person  has  been  promi- 
nent in  the  community,  or  in  any  instance 
where  the  number  of  friends  is  greater 
than  the  capacity  of  the  house.  It  is  alto- 
gether inconvenient  and  awkward  to  con- 
duct a  funeral  service  when  the  parlor  is 
crowded  with  the  acquaintances  of  the  de- 
ceased, the  immediate  relatives  and  friends 
necessarily  confined  to  an  upper  room,  and 


252  Lecture  Nineteenth 

the  minister  placed  half-way  up  a  flight 
of  stairs,  attempting  the  difficult  feat  of 
making  his  voice  audible  to  the  scattered 
assembly;  while  other  friends  who  have 
come  to  show  their  respect  and  express 
their  sympathy  are  compelled  to  do  so  by 
shivering  or  sweltering  on  the  pavement 
in  front  of  the  house.  All  of  these  incon- 
veniences are  obviated  by  simply  following 
the  arrangement  which  the  church  pre- 
scribes. 

As  we  study  the  simple  and  reverent 
form  of  service  by  which  the  church  lays 
her  children  to  rest,  we  are  met  at  once 
by  the  fact  that  it  is  distinctively  an  of- 
fice for  Christian  bmial.  There  are  three 
classes  of  persons  who  are  not  entitled  to 
the  use  of  this  office  at  their  burial.  These 
are:  (1)  Unbaptized  adults;  (2)  Any  who  die 
excommunicate;  and  (3)  Any  who  have  laid 
violent  hands  upon  themselves.  Concern- 
ing the  first  of  these  classes,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  remark  that  any  baptism,  how- 
ever irregularly  performed,  is  supposed  to 
confer  a  title  to  its  use.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  only  fair  to  reason  that  if  a 
man  has  spent  his  lifetime  in  indifference 


The  Burial  of  the  Dead  253 

and  unconcern  in  regard  to  the  offices  of 
tlie  church,  he  is  certainly  not  entitled  to 
them  after  his  death.  If  he  disregards  in 
life  the  simplest  and  most  fundamental 
distinction  between  a  Christian  and  a 
heathen,  it  would  be  a  strange  and  un- 
reasonable demand  that  the  distinctive 
office  of  baptized  Christians  should  be  ac- 
corded him  when  his  life  on  earth  is  ended. 
It  would  be  as  incongruous  as  to  have 
a  military  funeral  for  a  civilian ;  or  the 
peculiar  rites  and  ceremonies  of  a  frater- 
nal order  for  one  who  had  never  been  a 
member  of  that  order  in  life.  The  diffi- 
culty may  easily  be  obviated  by  using  a 
service  composed  for  the  occasion,  and 
there  are  abundant  selections  of  psalms 
and  lessons  which  are  appropriate;  but 
this  service  is  to  be  reserved  for  use  only 
at  the  burial  of  those  who  have  been  made 
by  holy  baptism  members  of  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ. 

The  second  class  includes  those  who  are 
under  the  bann  of  the  greater  excommuni- 
cation, which,  in  the  absence  of  church 
discipline  to-day,  is  a  thing  almost  un- 
known. Indeed,  neither  the  major  nor  the 
22 


254  Lecture  'Nineteenth 

minor  excommunication  has  any  great  ter- 
rors now,  since,  in  our  day,  self -excom- 
munication in  most  instances  saves  all 
trouble  to  the  authorities  of  the  church. 
To  refuse  the  use  of  the  office  on  the 
ground  of  excommunication,  therefore, 
would  only  be  justifiable  in  a  case  where 
the  sentence  had  been  formally  pronounced 
and  recorded,  and  then  ratified  by  the 
bishop. 

The  case  of  suicide  presents  a  more  diffi- 
cult question  for  decision.  The  plea  of 
insanity  is  so  constantly  urged  as  an  ex- 
cuse, or  at  least  as  a  palliation  of  every 
desperate  crime,  that  we  have  come  to  look 
with  a  strange  degree  of  leniency  upon 
every  such  violation  of  God's  law.  There 
is  but  one  rule  for  the  parish  priest  to 
follow  in  regard  to  suicides,  and  that  is  to 
abide  by  the  verdict  of  the  coroner's  in- 
quest. And  for  the  consolation  of  surviv- 
ing relatives,  it  is  quite  feasible  to  arrange 
a  service  specially  adapted  to  the  occasion, 
and  so  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
case  and  the  obligation  of  the  rubric. 

In  regard  to  all  of  these  excluded  classes, 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  it  can  make  but 


The  Burial  of  the  Dead  255 

little  diiference  to  the  dead  man  himself 
what  services  may  be  used  at  his  funeral, 
though  it  is  a  matter  of  concern  to  his 
surviving  friends.  But  this  aspect  of  the 
case  is  relieved  by  the  fact  that  it  is  only 
this  authorized  service  of  the  church  that 
is  prohibited.  Another  psalm  may  be  used 
for  the  anthem  and  another  chapter  for 
the  lesson,  and  any  other  form  may  be 
used  at  the  gi'ave,  provided  no  part  of  this 
service  be  used  at  all. 

Turning  away  from  these  exceptional 
cases  to  the  constant  rule  and  practice  of 
the  church,  we  find  that  the  real  consola- 
tions for  mourning  hearts  begin  with  the 
opening  words  of  the  service  and  end  only 
with  its  final  prayer.  As  the  sad  proces- 
sion enters  the  church  there  are  three  an- 
thems which  may  be  said  or  sung.  They 
are  the  expression  of  faith,  of  patience, 
and  of  thanksgiving.  The  anthem  of 
faith  is  the  word  of  consolation  which 
came  from  the  lips  of  our  Lord  to  a  sor- 
rowing heart  in  Bethany  before  the  miracle 
at  the  grave  of  Lazarus;  the  anthem  of 
patience  is  an  echo  from  the  patriarch  Job, 
which  has  floated  down  to  us  over  many 


256  Le5liire  Nineteenth 

centuries,  and  which  has  been  uttered  in 
the  presence  of  unnumbered  Christian 
dead ;  and  the  anthem  of  thanksgiving  is 
the  fitting  formula  of  an  uncomplaining 
submission  to  the  will  of  God,  which  is 
made  by  clasping  together  the  words  of 
St.  Paul  and  of  the  patriarch  Job,  and 
which  from  the  depths  of  sorrow  can  yet 
smile  through  tears  and  say,  "  The  Lord 
gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away : 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  These 
opening  sentences  correspond  in  place  and 
use  to  the  opening  sentences  of  the  Morn- 
ing and  Evening  Prayer;  and  when  the 
coffin  is  placed  before  the  altar,  facing  the 
east,  and  the  congregation  is  composed  for 
the  further  solemnities,  the  service  proper 
begins  with  the  burial  anthem,  which  is 
made  up  of  parts  of  the  xxxixth  and  xcth 
Psalms.  The  first  of  these  psalms  was 
composed  by  David  after  the  death  of 
Absalom.  The  second  was  composed  by 
Moses  while  the  children  of  Israel  were 
dying  in  the  wilderness ;  and  together  they 
constitute  a  most  fitting  expression  of  hu- 
man sorrow  as  well  as  a  recognition  of  the 
shortness  and  uncertainty  of  human  life. 


The  Burial  of  the  Dead  257 

The  lesson  is  the  subUme  argument  on 
the  resurrection  in  the  xvth  chapter  of 
First  Corinthians.  It  is  sometimes  called 
St.  Paul's  Gospel,  because  it  contains  the 
fullest  account  of  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord,  and  the  strongest  argument  in  proof 
of  it  to  be  found  in  Holy  Scripture.  It  is 
so  full  of  consolation  and  hope,  of  strong 
faith  and  well-grounded  expectation  of  the 
immortal  life  beyond  the  grave,  that  no 
other  words  of  instruction  or  consolation 
are  needed ;  and  therefore  no  provision  is 
made  for  what  is  commonly  known  as  a 
funeral  sermon.  The  idea  of  such  a  ser- 
mon is  foreign  to  the  church's  entire 
system,  and  a  devout  churchman  would 
far  rather  have  his  remains  laid  to  rest 
with  the  simple  and  adequate  words  of  the 
church's  service,  which  she  uses  alike  for 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the 
low,  the  king  from  his  throne,  and  the 
poor  man's  child.  For  in  death  there  is  an 
equality  which  is  nowhere  so  completely 
recognized  as  in  this  service,  and  which 
goes  beneath  the  outward  and  tempo- 
rary distinctions  of  life  to  the  immortal 
spirit  which   is    enfolded    alike    in    the 


258  Lecture  Nineteenth 

robes  of  royalty  and  the  rags  of  the 
beggar. 

The  service  at  the  grave  begins  with 
the  translation  of  a  mediaeval  hymn  which 
is  to  be  said  as  a  meditation  while  the 
preparations  are  going  on  for  laying  the 
body  in  its  final  resting-place.  This  hymn 
{In  media  Vitm)  dates  its  origin  as  far  back 
as  the  ninth  century,  and  the  reason  of  the 
strong  language  used  in  its  petitions  is  the 
fact  that  it  was  written  at  a  time  when  the 
faith  of  the  Christian  was  often  tested  by 
the  courage  of  his  life,  and  the  realities  of 
the  invisible  world  and  the  danger  of  falling 
away  were  constantly  recognized  amid  the 
shadows  and  the  struggle  of  this  mortal  life. 
In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  sung  as  a  dirge ; 
soldiers  chanted  it  as  a  battle  song  upon 
the  eve  of  a  conflict ;  but  as  an  anthem  in 
the  burial  service,  its  use  is  peculiar  to  the 
Anglican  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic. 

The  form  of  committal  to  the  grave  is 
accompanied  by  the  threefold  casting  of 
earth  upon  the  coffin,  a  custom  which  was 
common  among  the  Romans,  and  which  is 
referred  to  by  Horace,  though,  of  course, 
without  its  scriptural  accompaniment  of 


The  Burial  of  the  Dead  259 

"  Earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to 
dust." 

The  hope  of  future  blessedness  is 
strengthened  and  confirmed  by  an  anthem 
from  the  Apocalypse,  which  pronounces 
the  benediction  of  "  the  dead  who  die  in 
the  Lord,"  and  the  prayers  which  follow 
are  a  thanksgiving  for  the  good  example 
of  the  faithful  departed,  and  a  petition 
that  we  may  be  found  acceptable  to  God 
in  the  general  resurrection  of  the  last  day. 

In  the  entire  service,  the  church  pro- 
nounces no  verdict  upon  the  life  of  the 
departed ;  has  no  word  either  of  eulogy  or 
condemnation  upon  a  career  whose  mortal 
period  is  closed;  but  with  simple  words 
and  appropriate  ceremonies  lays  the  body 
to  rest,  and  leaves  the  spirit  in  the  care 
and  to  the  mercy  of  our  God  and  Saviour. 

"  Our  mother,  the  Church,  hath  never  a  child, 

To  honor  before  the  rest, 
But  she  singeth  the  same  for  mighty  kings, 

And  the  veriest  babe  on  her  breast. 
And  the  bishop  goes  down  to  his  narrow  bed 

As  the  ploughman's  child  is  laid. 
And  alike  she  blesseth  the  dark-browed  serf 

And  the  chief,  in  his  robes  arrayed. 


DATE  DUE 

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.MIIA..I 

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DEMCO  38-297 


Prmcelon   Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01022  0343 


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